the girl who went gravedigging and learned to talk to trees
by PURRcrastination
Summary: As it turns out, kekkei-genkai don't quite like to die either. "It chose you, Sakura." Mokuton!Sakura
1. prologue

**A/N: So basically I've made a bad life choice and decided to start yet another story, although hopefully one that will be finished this time. I am still working on a few of my others but despite having planned the plots out already I'm just not feeling very motivated at the moment, so I thought I'd write one of the ideas for a fanfic that's been in my head for a pretty long time. I've always wished that Sakura had some kind of kekkei-genkai of her own, something that would allow her to actually contribute to Team 7 and not just stand around doing nothing as Naruto and Sasuke fought the villains. This story is kinda the result of that. I will try my best to keep her from instantly becoming overpowered, or a Mary Sue. I'll also try to keep her in character as much as possible, although that may be hard since I really hated her fangirling personality (ok, so maybe I'm planning to get rid of _that _tendency a bit too fast). Anyways, not sure where exactly I'm going with this so I guess I'll just end it off. Please let me know if you like the story!**

* * *

[prologue]

The Konoha cemetery was eerie enough by day. It had been built back in the time of the founding, before the period of expansion, and was relatively near to the heart of the village. Despite this, noise from the bustling neighbourhood surrounding it never seemed to reach the large graveyard, and even the few visitors of the deceased didn't dare to make a sound, pressed down upon by the otherworldly quiet of the place. It could be a cloudless day too, the sun shining endlessly down on everything, and the cemetery would still be cast in shadows, a chill breeze floating between the gravestones.

By night though…

Sakura shivered, wrapping her thin hoodie around herself tighter. It wasn't a chilly night by any means - the opposite even; it was springtime now, with the days growing longer and the flowers beginning to bloom.

Despite this, as she passed through the gate to the cemetery, and over the threshold that separated it from the rest of the village, she felt the air around her drop in temperature and the night quiet. Even the eternally lively bar a block down couldn't be heard anymore; surprising, as despite her apartment being triple the distance away, it somehow always managed to keep her up at night with all the screams and loud noises.

She looked around graveyard spread quite a distance, taking up a large chunk of the downtown, but having been built on flat ground like most of Konoha, it was possible to see almost the entirety of it.

There was no one in sight, not that she'd expected there to be at this time of night. Civilians were normally asleep by now, or somewhere else, choosing to pay their respects by day. Ninja didn't tend to come here often either. Most that died didn't have graves, just a name carved on a stone, and the ones that did were mostly buried within their clan compounds. Only the shinobi from the time of Konoha's founding and the few clanless ninja who'd been lucky enough to die from old age were buried here.

Hoping to spend as little time as possible in the eerie place, Sakura quickened her pace, making for the four largest gravestones at the very back of the cemetery.

She didn't want to walk - each step seemed longer than the last and every shadow hid a creature. But she didn't want to run either. That would be like giving in to her fears - and _goddamnit_, she was a shinobi, not a little girl scared of the dark.

Consciously, she corrected herself. No, not a shinobi.

Not anymore.

Not yet.

Sakura reached the little shrine she had been aiming for, and gently traced a finger over the name carved into the plaque.

Hashirama Senju.

Shodaime Hokage of Konohagakure.

A thin mist hang here, wisping between the graves and making it hard to see far. Not that it mattered, Sakura knew exactly whom each of these mausoleums belonged to.

Tobirama's grave was next to his brothers, then Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze. The four Hokage of Konoha, the faces of the mountain.

It must be odd, she thought for no particular reason, to live with your grave already carved out for you - your final resting place already made. The third Hokage was still among the living yet his tomb had already been built, sitting perfectly in between the second and fourth.

Cautiously, she fished a small key from her pocket, rolling it around in her palm. If Mizuki hadn't lied then it would fit perfectly in the padlock chaining the crypt of the Shodaime.

She stared at the lock suspiciously. It looked centuries old, covered in rust and mold. It might not even open. She sighed, crouching down to unlock the chains, when suddenly she heard a sound from behind her.

Sakura whirled around, heart pounding rapidly. There was no one there - the sound a figment of her imagination.

With a last cautious glance around she turned back towards the tomb. The key fit into the lock easily and with a decisive click the lock sprang open.

Carefully, she removed the chains keeping the entrance to the crypt shut and pushed open the stone door. It slid open smoothly, the absence of any creaking grating more on her nerves than the actual sound would have.

The tomb was almost sixty years old and time degraded everything. The padlock clicking open like a well-oiled spring, the door revolving on its hinge without a sound…

Sakura took a deep breath, feeling fear flood her mind. She cast a quick glance behind her, her heartbeat so loud she could hear it pounding in her ears.

An overwhelming sense of being out of place engulfed her. A little girl, all alone in a field full of dead people, the wind seemed to whisper.

The rational part of her mind told her she was just scaring herself, but the emotion was stronger than logic and she felt a few warms tears roll down her cheeks.

She could leave now.. She could close the tomb and run back to the world of the living. Why was she even doing this? Screw Mizuki, this was wrong! It went against everything she stood for

She backed away from the tomb, shaking slightly

Then, unbidden, another part of her mind spoke up: But the look on Ino's face when she didn't show up next morning. Or worse, the look on Sasuke's face. What everyone would think of her when they realized that _Sakura Haruno had failed. _

She was a disappointment of a shinobi. even Naruto, who'd failed the exam twice already, had passed this year.

She thought of the shiny headband that she'd held for just a moment.

Sakura bit her lip and resolutely turned back towards the mausoleum, ducking her head to avoid hitting the low ceiling and entering.

Inside, it was a few degrees cooler than the night outside. There were narrow steps leading down and moss-ridden sconces lined the wall. Slowly, she moved down into the crypt, one hand trailing against the wall. The light lessened as she went further down and soon there was barely enough light to see the steps in front of her.

She could light the sconces, she thought, debating, but decided against it. The moon provided enough light, if barely, and more than that there was the strong sense that the light would draw _things_ \- and not necessarily people.

Finally reaching the bottom of the steps, Sakura stepped into the small chamber. It was barely tall enough for her to fit and as it was she could feel her head brush the ceiling. It was narrow too, with maybe only half a metre of space on either side of the coffin in the centre.

Crouching down, Sakura ran a light hands over the engravings in the wood coffin, hard to see by the dim light streaming through the far away square that was the entrance.

From what she could tell, the coffin was covered in pictures, each one telling a story. They intrigued her and had she been here by day Sakura might've taken the time to properly examine them. As it was though, it was night, and all she wanted was to get out of here.

Standing up again and moving to the right of the coffin, she pushed on the lid, trying to slide it off. It only budged slightly, the material much heavier than it looked. She tried again, this time putting her entire weight into it and reluctantly the coffin opened. The lid slid off onto the ground with a muffled clang. The fact that she would somehow have to get it back on later was lost by the sight of the uncovered corpse inside.

Even after all these years, Hashirama's body hadn't decayed at all, not even insects and animals having dared to touch it. HIs eyes were closed and in the dark he could've simply been sleeping.

Shaking off the odd feeling that he might wake up at any moment and see her, Sakura slid her small bag off her back, rummaging through it as she moved closer to the corpse. Finding what she'd been looking for, she fished out a small pocketknife and the glass petri dish Mizuki had given her.

It was easy enough. All she needed to do was collect a few of Hashirama's cells and the headband would be hers.

Pushing down the sense of wrongness again, she analytically studied the corpse of the first Hokage.

He had been buried in his Hokage robes, so the most logical choice would be to take a sample of skin from his upper body. Unless someone decided to change the dead Hokage no one would ever find out.

She bit her lip. It was the smart thing to do.

But the disgust with herself that she'd been pushing down welled up, stronger than before. Carving the Shodaime's body up like a dead animal, she just couldn't do it.

Instead, she brought her gaze down to his hand. She could cut off the very tip of a finger. It'd be easier to notice missing than a sample of his body but it wasn't obvious either.

A faint gust of wind that had somehow made it down into the crypt rustled the nape of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. Time to get on with it.

Sakura shuffled closer to the coffin and flipped open her pocket knife. She reached down and her fingers brushed Hashirama's.

Sakura froze.

There was an odd tingle in her fingertips, originating from where her bare skin touched the corpse.

Instinctively she tried to yank her fingers away, only to panic as she found she couldn't move them. Her breaths came faster now as she desperately tried to move away.

The feeling didn't _hurt_ necessarily, but it was so strange. Like something growing through her veins.

It had spread by now, making its way up her arm.

She dropped the pocketknife and grabbed at her wrist with her other arm, throwing all her bodyweight backwards in an attempt to escape.

To her horror, the _thing_ spread to her other arm as well, steadily carving an unstoppable path through her body.

By now it was at her heart and later Sakura could've sworn she felt the moment when her heart stopped beating.

Forgetting everything, she screamed.

Then the _thing _reached her brain and everything went dark.


	2. chapter 1

**A/N: Welp here's the first chapter I guess. I'm kinda worried it was a bit rushed but lemme know what you think. Also I was considering using suffixes but I'm not very good with Japanese so I'd probably use them all wrong. In the end I just decided to only include -sama (for the Hokage) and -sensei (for Mizuki and later on Kakashi) since it just sounds wrong to write Kakashi instead of Kakashi-sensei lol. Anyways, enjoy :)**

* * *

[chapter 1]

Sakura woke to painfully bright light and white-washed walls. Her head pounded in pain and she struggled to form a coherent thought. Where was she?

She remembered the graveyard, opening the crypt with the key Mizuki had given her and then…

She sat up in bed with a jolt, adrenaline flooding her veins. Vaguely she noticed she was still wearing the same clothes from the night before.

Oh no no no no no.

"Finally awake, Sakura?" the third Hokage said from the left of her hospital bed. He sat on a hard wooden chair dressed in full Hokage attire, the only other occupant in the clinically barren room. In his hands he held a large scroll and it was obvious he'd been waiting for her to wake up for a while.

She started, "I-"

The Hokage gently raised a finger to his lips in a gesture for her to be quiet. For a moment he sat there in silence, examining her with old eyes before he sighed.

"This morning, two chunin were found unaccounted for," the Hokage told her slowly, in a voice that was free of emotion. He sounded like he was reading a report. "One later turned up dead, poisoned at about nine last night. The other is still missing."

Sakura looked at him, not quite sure where this was going. What had even happened last night?

"The latter was someone I'm sure you'll recognize: your academy teacher Mizuki," the Hokage continued. "Now the former - and this is more interesting - was on duty at the time he was murdered, tasked with guarding the Konoha graveyard."

The Hokage gave her another unreadable look. "The same graveyard where you were found early this morning in the unlocked crypt of Hashirama Senju, unconscious and with a pocketknife on the ground next to you."

By all accounts his words should have sounded accusing, yet instead there was something else - something deeper - in the Hokage's tone. Sakura didn't know what it was, or even if she _wanted_ to know what it was.

She panicked, her face pale. A chunin dead and Mizuki missing. Suddenly, everything was going so so wrong.

"I-I can explain-" she said frantically.

Again, the Hokage stopped her from speaking, this time with a slight shake of his head. He stood up from his chair, robes unfolding around him.

"The council wishes to speak to you," he said. "Come."

She hated how toneless his voice was. She knew shinobi were trained to not give away a single emotion, but at this moment, she wanted to know nothing more than what the Hokage was feeling. Was he angry at her? Everything since she'd woken up was slowly spinning out of her control.

Shakily, Sakura stood up from the hospital bed and slipped on the shoes waiting for her at the foot of the bed. The Hokage stood waiting at the door, expectantly holding it open. She walked over to him and out the door, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Sakura" the Hokage said softly, causing her to turn back towards him and hesitantly meet his gaze.

"Do not worry so much."

The walk to the Hokage's tower took longer than she could ever remember it taking. As they walked through the streets she could feel people staring at them. The Hokage and an academy student. While deep down she knew they were probably just curious as to what the two were doing out so early, the suspicious part of her mind saw narrowed eyes and whispered conversations with each other.

They knew, she told herself. They knew what she'd done and they were disgusted with her.

Slightly ahead of her the Hokage didn't even seem to notice the stares, marching forward without a sideways glance. Attempting to imitate him, Sakura turned her gaze straight ahead, refusing to meet the eyes of any passerbyers.

The rest of the walk passed this away and then they were at the base of the tower. She dragged her feet a bit as she followed the Hokage up the stairs to his office. She'd never met the council of elders before, although she knew who was on it.

Councilor Homura Mitokado, Councilor Danzo Shimura and Councilor Koharu Utatane. The council had been put together years ago back in the early days of the Sandaime's reign, tasked with helping the Hokage govern the village and to ensure that all decisions were made with the best interest of Konoha in mind. That was the official role of the council at least; to provide advice. From what she'd heard though, the elders had much more influence than that. They'd been garnering wide support from both the village's shinobi and civilians for years, now holding a social position similar to that of the Hokage. She'd even heard rumours that the Hokage wasn't even truly in charge anymore; that the elders were pulling all the strings. The Hokage had told her not to worry, but…

She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment as she they reached the Hokage's office. Stop it, she told herself. Taking in a deep breath, she composed herself as best she could.

The Hokage opened the door for her, gesturing for her to enter. Inside, she was surprised to find Iruka arguing with an older woman and an older man. Another man wrapped in bandages and holding a cane stood off to the side.

"She was found with a glass petri dish and pocketknife near her. What else was she doing if not collecting cell samples from Hashirama?" the woman exclaimed loudly.

"And who would want those cell samples if not Orochimaru! He's tried once before!" the man added loudly.

"She's not working with Orochimaru," Iruka said exasperatedly, as if this wasn't the first time he'd said it. "Sakura has been my student for six years now."

"The chunin guard was poisoned with _snake venom_. It had Orochimaru's mark all over it," the woman spat.

Iruka opened his mouth to reply but the Hokage's voice boomed from behind Sakura, as he stepped into his office and closed the door behind them.

"Quiet!"

He placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura has just woken up. I'm sure we will all agree to wait until _after_ she has told her side of the story to throw around accusations," he said softly, although his voice seemed to fill the room. His voice was pleasant enough too, but there was an undercurrent of steel hidden in it.

Uneasily, she noticed how the elders narrowed their eyes viciously, as if unwilling to concede. The people in this room… who held the true power?

To her relief the elders grudgingly turned to look at her.

"Very well. We will hear the girl," the woman said.

Sakura took a brave step forward, opening her mouth to speak. As her eyes flashed around the room though, they caught the eyes of the bandaged man who had not yet said a word. Her throat clenched and suddenly she couldn't get a sound out.

There was something burning in his eyes - something that scared her. It was like fire, but it wasn't. Fire was warm, wasn't it?" Her breath quickened and she strained to tear her eyes away, instantly moving her gaze to her feet. All she could feel was an unnatural fear for the old man - who she assumed was Councilor Shimura.

"Well?" Councilor Shimura said, finally speaking up. His voice was raspy and cold, like a dead man. "We're all waiting."

She forced herself to swallow her fear. "It was a-after the g-genin exam," she stuttered.

"You don't sound very sure," the older woman - councilor Homura - said, scoffing.

The Hokage quieted her with a look before placing his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Please continue, Sakura."

"R-Right," she said, trying again. "It was after the g-genin exam and Mizuki-sensei asked me to stay behind."

She'd been so happy in those few moments before he approached her, she remembered. She'd held her headband so gingerly, like it was made of glass and not out of steel.

"So I stayed behind and then he-he told me I hadn't p-passed the e-exam," she said, shaking a bit. "M-Mizuki-sensei said that I'd been given the headband to avoid em-embarrassing me in front of the class."

Here, Iruka let out a gasp. "Sakura," he exclaimed, interrupting her. "Of course you didn't fail! How could you think that - you even made top kunoichi!"

She stared at him for a moment, wordless. She hadn't failed. But then everything…

Sakura felt like crying. Her head pounded and she could see her vision becoming blurry. She hastily rubbed at her eyes. She could feel the eyes of all the elders on her. She couldn't cry.

"What happened after that?" the Hokage prompted her gently.

Sakura took a deep breath. "Mi-Mizuki-sensei told me that he'd be willing to give me a headband though if I could do something for him," she continued. "So I-I agreed and t-then he told me to go to the graveyard and retrieve some of the f-first Hokage's cells a-and he gave me the k-key to his tomb and-"

"And so you carried out his wishes, with no respect or thought of the Shodaime himself," Councilor Shimura said coldly, cutting her off.

"I-I just didn't want to fail," Sakura said weakly, hanging her head.

There was silence for a moment before Councilor Koharu burst out. "How do we know she's not working with Orochimaru? She could be a spy!"

She saw her academy teacher look over at him in disgust. "Did you not hear a single word she just said?" Iruka exclaimed loudly.

From behind her she heard the Hokage let out a tired sigh as the room erupted into argument again. He rubbed his head as if it hurt.

She couldn't be trusted, was the main argument of Councilor Mitokado and Councilor Utatane. To her surprise, Iruka didn't seem threatened by their power at all, arguing loudly for her case. She felt a bit of warmth in her chest at that. She knew she'd never been Iruka's favorite student. She was a good student, sure, but she just didn't have the type of emotional bond Iruka shared with Naruto - she'd seen them eating ramen together at Ichiraku's on multiple occasions. That he cared about her so much to go against the council of elders… She smiled. It was nice.

The smile dropped off her face though as Councilor Shimura spoke up over the others, his heavy gaze still on her.

"What I would like to know," he said softly. Just like the Hokage though his voice seemed to fill the room despite the lack of volume. "Is why we found you there unconscious. Was it intentional?"

For some reason she didn't want to tell them about the odd feeling that had invaded her. Her instincts screamed out that it would be a bad idea. Sakura shook her head frantically. "I-I dpn't know. I just sort of touched the first Hokage's skin and then I b-blacked out."

Councilor Utatane sniffed. "A likely story."

She felt a bit of hot anger burn inside her just as a few tears escaped her eyes. What was with them? She _wasn't_ a spy. She'd never done anything against them either, so why did they have to keep accusing her at every turn.

From behind her the Hokage sighed again - he seemed to be doing that a lot.

"It's possible that the actual contact of Hashirama's skin caused Sakura to have a panic attack."

"A spy having a panic attack?" Councilor Mitokado asked snarkily and within moments the room was in argument again.

Councilor Shimura didn't participate - not that he had before. With his cane he took slow shuffling steps towards them until he stood facing the man behind her. She stood quietly in the middle, both of the men looming over her.

"Hiruzen," Councilor Shimura said. There was something in his voice she couldn't quite place. "You know that despite their ignorance those two are right."

He tilted his head to the two elders currently still arguing with Iruka, not seeming to care if Sakura heard.

"We have found nothing connecting her to Orochimaru," the Hokage replied.

"She could be one of the experiments that somehow managed to slip through out search," Danzo said.

"The girl is a potential threat if kept alive," he continued emotionlessly. "She must be disposed of. You yourself know exactly what Orochimaru is capable of."

The Hokage was quiet for a moment and Sakura felt fear bloom in her chest. He didn't mean… _she must be disposed of_. The words echoed in her mind.

"Danzo," the Hokage said quietly. "She's 12, barely a genin."

Councilor Shimura's face was unreadable, without a hint of emotion. "Age is simply a number in the shinobi world."

A hint of bitterness entered the Hokage's voice as he responded. "I suppose that's what you told yourself last time too, when you ordered…" he trailed off, both men sharing some unspoken conversation.

The Hokage closed his eyes for a moment before turning to the three others in the room.

"Iruka," he said, breaking up the argument. "If you would be so kind as to fetch an available Yamanaka from interrogation? Perhaps then we can get to the bottom of this."

He turned back again, sharing another unreadable conversation with Councilor Shimura.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure that's necessary?" Iruka protested briefly.

"Please make haste Iruka," the Hokage said without answering, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

Iruka left after that, with a quick bow to the Hokage.

In his absence, the room was quiet. Councilor Shimura and the Hokage moved away from the others to talk quietly in whispered tones. The Hokage's face was stony and it was obvious he didn't like what was being said. The other two elders moved away as well soon after, conversing in hushed tones and with the occasional glance towards her that made it obvious what they were talking about.

Feeling awkward and scared Sakura looked around the room. She'd never actually been inside the Hokage's tower before. It was odd to look out the large windows and see the city below while she was so used to gazing up at the intimidating building.

She took a deep breath. Councilor Shimura wanted her dead.

She watched the people below bustle around, the city slowly waking up. Oh god, why was she so stupid.

She hadn't failed the exam.

Mizuki was missing.

They thought she was a spy.

Sakura felt her eyes water and hastily rubbed them, unwilling to show weakness here in front of the council. What was she going to do now?

A knock sounded at the door, pulling her out of her thoughts. By her estimate it had taken Iruka about eight minutes.

"Come in," the Hokage called, breaking off his conversation with Councilor Shimura and moving towards the centre of the office.

Iruka entered, looking slightly out of breath. That made sense, she supposed. Torture and Interrogation was on the outskirts of the village, in order to prevent dangerous interactions between the prisoners and civilians. Iruka nodded at someone outside the dor who she couldn't see.

"After you," he said respectfully. stepping aside. A blond shinobi who she didn't recognize entered the room.

"Hokage-sama, Councilors," he greeted with a slight bow of his head.

The Hokage smiled at him. "Thank you for coming, Inoiba."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," the Yamanaka said. "You needed me to examine someone's memories?"

Councilor Utatane stepped forward.

"Indeed," he said. "The girl over there _claims_," here he cast a hate-filled glance over at Sakura, "that an Academy teacher ordered her to break into the Konoha graveyard and steal a sample of Hashirama's cells."

The Yamanaka blinked, seeming to take it in without feeling. She wondered what type of cases he was normally assigned to.

The Hokage smiled kindly. "If you could please just confirm Haruno-san's story as well as see if she was working with anyone else, that would be helpful, Inoiba."

Inoiba nodded, turning towards her. He knelt down in front of her, forming a hand seal she didn't recognize.

"Please hold still miss," he said.

Sakura stumbled back though, scared. This was a good thing, she told herself. They'd all know that she was telling the truth. But her mind kept replaying something she remembered reading years ago. As a shinobi, their body was given to their village, leaving only the mind as truly theirs. She didn't want this stranger sifting through everything that made her _her._

Suddenly - she hadn't even noticed him moving - Councilor Shimura was behind her, his hands clamping down on her shoulders to prevent her from moving.

"He told you to stand still, didn't he girl?" the man said coldly. In front of her, the Yamanaka made a movement with his hands.

This time as she lost control of her body, it was sudden. Nothing like the slow static she'd felt down in the crypts. She could feel acutely as _Sakura _was shoved into a small corner of her mindscape, only able to watch on as Inoiba took over.

"Alright, I'm in," she said, but it wasn't _her _speaking.

The Yamanaka in her mind started pulling up memories and Sakura looked on as he flicked through the events of the past few days as if in fast-forward. She re-watched as Mizuki pulled her aside after school. The sight of his gray hair sent a shot of anger through her.

"A man she refers to as Mizuki-sensei talked to her yesterday," her voice said blandly. "He told her she had failed the final exam. She was shocked and felt like a failure."

Sakura felt her cheeks flush in anger as the Yamanaka she'd never met before - this complete stranger - reported to the council the emotions she'd felt almost like a doctor diagnosing a patient.

"Mizuki-sensei offered an alternative solution. She agreed immediately. He informed her that he would give her a headband if she retrieved a sample of the first Hokage's cells for him," Inoiba said through her mouth.

Every memory he skimmed through felt violating, like someone was stealing something that was purely hers. Sakura pushed against the imaginary prison Inoiba had built and shoved her into when he'd entered her mind. She wanted him out of her head. It didn't work.

"She was hesitant but worried about what her classmates would think of her when they learned she failed," she continued. "Hoping to prevent this, she took the items he gave her - a key and glass petri dish to contain the cells once retrieved, I believe - and snuck into the graveyard later that night."

Here, Councilor Utatane interrupted. "Did she make contact with anyone else between when she left the academy and entered the graveyard. Possibly the chunin tasked with guarding the graveyard."

Inoiba flashed back through her memories before responding. "No, Councilor-san, although she briefly interacted with her mother. Is that sufficient?"

The Councilor seemed disappointed. "Yes, please continue."

Sakura felt herself nod. The movement was so odd. It felt like the nightmares she got sometimes, where people were chasing her but she couldn't move her feet. Except of course this time it was real.

"She was scared but made her way to the first Hokage's grave," she said. "Here, she used the key Mizuki-sensei had given her and unlocked the tomb. She then entered the crypt and opened the coffin inside."

Sakura pushed against her invisible confinement harder.

"Get out, get out, get out!" she hissed mentally.

To her surprise Inoiba paused his scroll through her memories for a moment before continuing at a slower rate, as if it was getting more difficult to view them. Had it worked? She pushed the bars again, but nothing happened.

"She debated on whether to remove a sample of skin from the first Hokage's body but decided against it," Inoiba continued. "She reached down, meaning to take some skin from the top of Hashirama's finger. However, as she touched his skin she felt large amounts of fear for something and blacked out."

The stream of memories slowed down even further, almost down to a sludge. She could feel Inoiba struggling to view the next image.

"Her next memory is of a hospital," the Yamanaka finally reported, his voice sounding slightly strained. "Should I continue?"

The Hokage shook his head. "That will be all, Inoiba."

Just as suddenly as her consciousness had been pushed aside, she felt herself regain control over her body. Behind her, Councilor Shimura released his iron grip on her shoulders and she keeled over, feeling like throwing up. It had been horrible, losing control of her mind. Even now as she kneeled on the floor, supported by her palms, she could remember the feeling of Inoiba looking through her mind.

Slowly, she stood up, grateful that she hadn't actually thrown up. Iruka was smiling.

"Hokage-sama, as Inoiba has confirmed Sakura's story, I assume she is cleared?"

The two councilors who had been arguing with him were grumbling to each other, but it didn't seem as if they had any remarks to make. Sakura carefully moved her fingers around to test if she had truly gained control of her body again and let out a small smile. At least it had been worth it if they believed her now.

The hope disappeared as Inoiba cleared his throat. "Permission to comment, Hokage-sama?" he asked respectfully.

The council looked over at him and the Hokage nodded. "Granted."

"There was an odd presence in the girl's mind," Inoiba reported emotionlessly. "Especially near the end, it grew stronger, as if it was trying to prevent me from seeing her memories."

The room was silent for a horrible moment. Sakura felt panic rise inside her. Was it because she'd pushed against the prison? She hadn't thought it had done anything. A chill ran down her spine. Or was it the _thing _that had froze her last night?

The room burst out in sound.

"This only proves it. The girl's a spy!" Councilor Mitokado hissed to the Hokage.

"Sarutobi, memories can be tampered with," Councilor Kohary added.

"Hokage-sama-" Iruka started.

It was as if a dam had broke. The volume just kept rising in the room and Sakura felt a little claustrophobic despite never having had a fear of small spaces.

"Enough!" the Hokage boomed. It was like someone had turned a switch. She looked at him in surprise. His presence hadn't been non-existent before, but it was different now. It was as if he commanded the attention of everyone in the room and finally she could see why exactly he was the Hokage.

He turned to the two councilors beside him. "Homura, Koharu. I would've hoped that Inoiba's examination of Sakura's memories would be enough to alleviate your suspicions but it seems not."

The two elders narrowed their eyes in discontent but finally looked away in submission. Sakura felt some of the tension she didn't even know she'd been holding melt away. It wasn't something she was proud of, but she'd doubted the Hokage. He had comforted her at the hospital, but he'd practically let the Councilors walk over him.

From behind her she heard Councilor Shimura scoff. "So the girl will be let go without punishment?"

The third met his eyes and it felt like their previous confrontation all over again, only having switched places. "We have confirmed that she has no affiliation with Orochimaru, Danzo."

The man behind her was silent. "And I presume you will make no changes to the teams? She is a danger to the Uchiha and Jinchuuriki," he said coldly.

Sakura blinked. Sasuke was on her team? For some reason the thought didn't make Sakura as happy as she would've thought.

The Hokage cast a glance over at her. For a moment he seemed worried about something.

"Danzo, you will not speak of that," he said. "Besides, it is too late. The clan heads have already been informed of their children's placements. A change now would cause discontent."

Sakura turned around to face Councilor Shimura and for just a flash she saw hate burning in his eyes. She blinked and it was gone, his face as emotionless as before. Had she imagined it? The third Hokage and Councilor Shimura were childhood friends, weren't they?

"It seems we are finished here then," the bandaged man stated. "I will take my leave."

He moved away from her, his cane tapping on the floor as he walked. The Hokage sighed, suddenly seeming much older.

"Council dismissed," he said, waving a hand. Councilor Utatane and Councilor Mitokado hurried towards the door after Councilor Shimura. He cast a quick glance at the Yamanaka who still stood patiently waiting near her. "Inoiba-kun, thank you for your help. I trust that this matter will not leave the room?"

The Yamanaka gave a curt nod. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage turned to Iruka. "Iruka, if you would be so kind as to wait outside? I would like a word with Sakura."

Her teacher nodded filing out of the room with the others, and soon she was left alone with the Hokage. She turned to him, unsure of what to say. He looked at her kindly.

"Have a seat, Sakura-chan," he said, gesturing to the seat opposite the desk from the Hokage's chair. She sat down, watching with wary eyes as he crossed to his own chair. For a few moments they just sat there, the Hokage looking at her with his old eyes.

"I believe you," he said breaking the silence. "I don't believe that you are working for someone, or spying on our village."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," she said gratefully.

He sighed."Don't thank me."

Sakura looked at him, confused, and he shook his head. "I believe you, it's just the fact that you chose to do this…" he looked straight at her.

"I'm disappointed in you, Sakura."

Her cheeks flushed and she looked down, ashamed.

"A good ninja must look underneath the underneath, yet you didn't even look underneath," the Hokage continued, scolding her. His voice didn't rise at all, yet it was worse than any time her parents had ever yelled at her. "There were so many things wrong with what Mizuki was offering to you, yet you let your foolish desires lead you and in the process performed an act for which I would legally be allowed to hand you over to Torture and Interrogation."

Sakura hung her head, letting her hair cover her face as she felt tears well up. She stared at the wooden desk right in front of her, the swirls and patterns in the material blurring as she felt tears cloud her vision.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," she said, and she truly meant it. The Hokage sighed again.

"Look at me, Sakura." She looked up reluctantly, her teary eyes meeting his.

"Learn from this," he told her seriously. "you have a bright mind, so _use it_."

She swallowed down her tears and nodded.

The Hokage looked at her sadly, seeming unnaturally tired. "Just promise me you'll think before you act in the future. I've seen far too many promising shinobi die because they let their emotions govern them."

Sakura wiped away her tears with a sleeve.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," she said for the second time.

Oh god, she'd been so stupid, hadn't she? She'd known that Mizuki didn't have the authority to grant her a headband just for carrying out a personal favour, yet she'd ignored that in the hopes of not having Ino - not having Sasuke - realize what had happened. She'd ignored everything - that Mizuki had literally asked her to commit a crime - because of how desperately she'd cared about what people thought of her. The headband was just a piece of cloth and metal, but it represented so much. It was success, it was finally becoming an adult.

Mizuki had known this, she realized with a jolt, and he'd taken advantage of it. He'd used her. Sakura felt pure rage course through. How dare he. She hated him - she hated him _so much_.

But it was her fault.


	3. chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the next chapter :) I actually struggled a bit with this one, especially the end. My goal for this chapter was to slowly try to phase Sakura out of her Sasuke fangirling. I kinda feel like I rushed it a bit though, but let me know what you think. Also, I just thought I should address some of the questions about the last chapter.**

**1\. In this version, Sakura does not have an inner personality. I know it doesn't really fit with canon but to be honest her inner didn't do much and it's such a trouble to incorporate into the story especially since it doesn't really play a role. So basically just forget about inner ever existing lol.**

**2\. A bit of a spoiler (oops!), but the thing that the Yamanaka felt when examining her mind is actually the same _thing _that caused Sakura to lose consciousness after touching Hashirama's skin. As slightly explained in the summary of the story, in this universe kekkei-genkai's are at least slightly sentient. **

**3\. The reason that Naruto did not fail the exam is indeed that he was taught how to perform the kage-bunshin. Who taught him I never really thought about but for the purpose of the story you can assume the Hokage taught him. However, because he did not fail the exam, Naruto never learned that he holds the nine-tailed fox.**

**4\. Orochimaru did already have Hashirama's DNA (Yamato is alive in this story). However, although it might not ever be mentioned in the story, Konoha destroyed one of Orochimaru's bases, which happened to be where the DNA was being stored. This meant that Orochimaru needed to retrieve more, which is why he ordered Mizuki (who was in Konoha at the time) to retrieve it for him. Mizuki did not want to risk himself and therefore got Sakura to steal it. However, when Sakura didn't show up where she was supposed to meet Mizuki, he realized that she would be discovered and therefore ran away.**

**Hope that helps! As always, thanks so much for taking the time to review and I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

[chapter 2]

With a bow to the Hokage she made her away out of his office, finding Iruka waiting for her outside the door. He smiled kindly at her.

"Let's get you to the academy, alright? he said softly. She nodded and together they made their way out of the tower.

As they walked, Iruka attempted to make conversation, but perhaps sensing her unwillingness to talk he soon stopped. Her thoughts were a turbulent mess, thoughts spinning into and out of her mind too fast for her to grab ahold of. Councilor Shimura and the Hokage's voices kept ringing in her mind.

_She must be disposed of._

_I'm disappointed in you, Sakura._

_I've seen far too many promising shinobi die because they let their emotions govern them._

She couldn't get the Hokage's sad and tired eyes out of her mind. Is that what being a shinobi was like? He'd lived through all three wars, she remembered learning. Just how many friends had he seen die?

They strolled through the streets instead of taking to the roofs like she knew more experienced shinobi did. Despite this, they reached the Academy within minutes. It had been built close to the Hokage tower - one of the first buildings constructed by Hashirama during the founding.

She'd expected there to be students milling around in front of the Academy waiting for school to start, but to her surprise the courtyard was empty. Casting a quick glance of the sun she realized it was about half an hour after school was supposed to have started. In the end the meeting with the council of elders must have taken longer than she'd thought.

They travelled through the hallways - empty as well - to their classroom. It was quiet, the only sounds the tapping of her boots against the floor and the chaotic thoughts swirling through her mind.

Just outside the door, Iruka paused and turned to her.

"I know the last 24 hours must have been pretty hard for you, but don't let it ruin your first day as a genin of Konohagakure, ok?" He said quietly.

Sakura nodded without responding. She'd been looking forward to this day for months now, anxiously awaiting the moment she could wear her headband with pride. Now, though, Councilor Shimura's cold words kept ringing in her ears.

She felt so small, so insignificant. A genin of Konohagakure, huh?

_So easily disposed of_.

Even just the thought of Mizuki sent hate rushing down her spine. She'd been so naive. Where was she even supposed to go from here?

From his back pocket Iruka pulled out a headband, similar to the ones that had been given out yesterday. It was made out of a navy blue fabric and the Konoha symbol carved into the unblemished metal plate in the center shone. It wasn't the same one she'd been handed after graduation, but it didn't matter. In the face of everything that had happened a headband seemed so much less important.

Iruka gently turned her around so her back was facing him. Then, carefully, he looped the fabric over her forehead, tying it at the back with deft fingers.

"Wear it with pride, alright?" He said.

Wordlessly, Sakura ran her fingers over the cool metal of the headband now resting on her forehead. It was hers now.

With a measured bow to Iruka she muttered a quick thanks.

The only response her teacher granted was a small, sad smile, before he opened the door to their classroom and gestured for her to enter.

As she stepped into the room, she felt all eyes instantly on her. Her classmates sat waiting in their rows of seats, curiously examining her.

Self-consciously Sakura looked down at herself. She was still wearing the same dirty clothes from last night. Normally on an important morning like this she would have spent hours working on her appearance, worrying over every stray hair. She'd hadn't exactly dressed to impress the dead last night, quickly throwing on a pair of sweatpants, tanktop and a light hoodie at home. Her hair was in tangles too, nothing like Ino's silky-smooth ponytail from where she sat beside Sasuke.

For some odd reason though, Sakura just didn't care. She kept seeing the Hokage's impossibly tired eyes in her mind, as he told her about the shinobi he'd seen die, and Iruka's sad smile he'd sent her only moments ago as he studied her. So what if she looked like a mess or Ino had taken the seat next to Sasuke.

She could still feel the blood running through her veins, her heart pounding loudly. At least she wasn't _dead._

"Iruka-sensei! You're late!" Naruto called loudly from the back row. Iruka stepped out from behind her and moved to the front of the room.

"Sorry class," he said apologetically. "Sakura and I got held up by an important meeting at the Hokage's tower."

He turned to her. "Sakura, if you could find a seat? Then we can get started."

She nodded soundlessly and scanned the classroom for empty seats. The desks were arranged in triplets, with three sets per row and three rows. Shikamaru, Choji and one civilian boy she'd never interacted with sat behind Ino, Sasuke and Ami. Kiba, Shino and Hinata sat together. At the back of the room Naruto sat alone, no one willing to pair up with the dead last. The two seats on either side of him were the only empty seats in the room.

Without a word she silently climbed up the aisle and sat down beside the blond boy.

"Eh? Sakura?" He asked happily, confused.

She didn't deign to respond, instead turning back to face the front of the room. Iruka was staring at her in surprise, as if he hadn't expected her to take the seat without protesting. Looking around, she saw that Ino as well as a few others had the same look. Flushing a bit, Sakura sank down lower in her seat.

Iruka coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"My apologies for the wait," he said. "Since we are running a bit late, I'll do my best to keep it short. Now, first and foremost, I'd like to congratulate you all on graduating."

Iruka paused. "From here on out, you are shinobi and kunoichi of Konohagakure."

The class cheered loudly at his words and Sakura tested the phrase out on her tongue. A kunoichi of Konohagakure. That was what she'd always aspired to be, wasn't it? And now she was finally here. Beside her, Naruto was beaming so brightly it would've been impossible not to notice. Pride and satisfaction, she guessed, afterall he'd already failed twice.

After a moment though, Iruka stopped the cheers by raising his hand.

"But the life of a ninja is not without dangers," he told them seriously. "Which is why you will be placed into three-man teams under a jounin-sensei, designed to keep you alive until you grow stronger."

Three-man teams, huh? Sakura had vaguely known about this from seeing genin teams around the village, but from the startled looks of the people around her they probably hadn't realized. Closer to the front of the room she saw Sasuke glare angrily at his desk. Right, supposedly she was on his team, according to Councilor Shimura.

"Now I know you probably all want to be with your friends," Iruka continued," however, the teams have already been assigned by the Hokage and all of your teachers. They were created based on your individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as the personality traits we have seen you display. There will be no trying to switch around or complaining once I announce the teams. Understood?"

Collectively the class groaned and she saw a few of the girls look hopefully over at Sasuke. She felt the faint urge to gloat. They wouldn't be on his team. She would.

"These will be your teammates at least until you reach the chunin level, so I suggest you make an attempt to get to know them better," Iruka said. "After I finish announcing all the teams your new jounin-sensei will come collect you for a team meeting."

There were nods from students in the rows before her.

"Well, if everybody is ready, I will announce the teams now. Please wait to move until all the teams have been listed."

Everyone in the class seemed to sit up a bit straighter in anticipation. From his back pocket Iruka pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Team three will be Daichi, Ami and Koji."

Three of her classmates groaned in unison.

"Team five will be Fuki, Sansho and Nobori."

Sakura noticed Naruto staring at his desk in confusion.

"What is it?" she asked him, feeling slightly bad about how surprised everyone had been when she'd sat down next to him.

It's just… why did Iruka-sensei skip team numbers?"

From the away he'd asked it was obvious he thought it was a stupid question that everyone except him knew the answer to and she was about to roll her eyes when with a start Sakura realized she actually had no idea. She frowned, looking back to Naruto.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But I'll ask Iruka-sensei."

The blond boy paled. "No, it's ok Sakura. You don't have to. I don't want you to get in trouble, you know, 'cause he's talking right now."

With a shrug she raised her hand anyways, ignoring his protests. She'd never gotten in trouble before for asking questions. Iruka always praised her instead.

About to read off team seven, Iruka looked up, noticing her hand.

"Yes, Sakura?" he asked, admittedly sounding slightly annoyed.

She stood up in her seat. "Naru-"

She paused, having been about to mention Naruto. It had been his question after all, and that away they wouldn't think badly of her if it turned out to be a stupid question.

Hesitating, she looked at him. But that just wasn't _fair_, was it? Naruto hadn't even wanted to ask originally. It had been her who'd raised her hand, despite his protests - and even then he'd been looking out for her, not himself. She'd always thought of Naruto as loud and obnoxious, but now… with a frown she realized she was worse. She was taking advantage of him, exactly like Mizuki had taken advantage of her. And he'd only been able to do that in the first place because of her _stupid_ care of what other people thought of her.

Clearing her throat, Sakura started again. "-_I _was wondering why you skipped certain team numbers. For example, the first team you announced was team 3, not team 1."

"For those of you that don't know," Iruka started, and Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit of heat rise to her cheeks in shame, "the team numbers are actually assigned based on which numbers are available. To use your example, Sakura: Team 1 and Team 2 from last year are currently active teams, while Team 3 - a team assigned a few years ago - had members who passed the chunin exam last year, effectively disbanding it."

With a nod, Sakura sat back down. That made sense. They couldn't very well have two teams with the same number. She grimaced, angry with herself for not having figured it out by herself.

Naruto seemed to mistake her anger as directed at him though.

"Thanks for asking," he said quietly, looking down.

At the front of the room, iruka continued reading off his list. "Team seven will be Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto."

_She is a danger to the Uchiha and Jinchuuriki._

She gave a half-smile to Naruto that felt slightly forced.

"It's fine," she told him.

The Uchiha was obviously Sasuke, but she'd assumed that Jinchuuriki was a name. But if her third team member was Naruto…

What did Jinchuuriki even mean? She had a pretty big vocabulary but she'd never heard the word used before. Was it a title maybe? Naruto was an orphan, if she remembered right, so maybe he'd had parents in positions of power? She remembered all his failed attempts at clones throughout the year and scoffed internally. She doubted it.

"Hey!" Someone called, pulling her out of her thoughts. The girl sitting in the row in front of her had turned to face Sakura with a sneer.

"Don't go thinking that just because you're on Sasuke's team he'll like you!"

It was easy - way too easy - for her to instinctively slide into her fangirl persona.

"Don't be jealous, Ami," she told the purple-haired girl. "After all, the team assignments just prove that me and Sasuke are fated to be together."

Ami sent her a glare before turning back in her seat as Iruka called out a reprimand. From beside her, Sakura saw Naruto giving her a look. Was that disappointment she saw in his eyes? For some reason it reminded her of the away the third Hokage had looked at her earlier that morning and angrily she turned the blond boy.

"What," she hissed, not caring if she was being rude.

Naruto frowned at her. "I don't get it. What's so great about Sasuke anyways."

Sakura immediately opened her mouth to respond. Then, for the second time that day, she paused. She glanced over at the raven-haired Uchiha. He was so handsome, she thought to herself, taking in his silky hair and pale skin. But she couldn't tell that to Naruto, that was just so vain and girly. She didn't think of herself as someone who liked people just based on their looks. What else could she say though? It definitely wasn't his personality. He was cold and stuck up and arrogant.

She shook her head. What the hell was happening to her. Sasuke wasn't any of those things, he was just cool and strong. Her eyes caught Naruto's deep blue ones and suddenly she didn't know what to say.

Sakura turned away from his with a huff, crossing her arms. "You wouldn't understand," she told him condescendingly.

The blond boy just shrugged - not as loud for once - and turned back to his desk.

By now Iruka had finished with the rest of the teams. She hadn't really been listening after he'd announced her team, but now she watched as various older shinobi entered the room. They were probably their new jounin-sensei.

"Uh, could Ino, Shikamaru and Choji please come with me?" A brown-haired man with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth drawled.

Another jounin, this time a woman with dark hair and startlingly beautiful red eyes, took Shino, Hinata and Kiba with her.

Team by team the kids filed out of the room until it was just her, Naruto, Sasuke and Iruka left.

Iruka cleared his throat sheepishly. "Sorry guys, but since we were running a bit late when we started I have to get to a meeting now. I'm sure your jounin-sensei will be here in a bit."

Then, without waiting for a reply, he disappeared from the room as well.

There was silence for a moment between the three of them before Naruto groaned loudly.

"Our jounin-sensei _sucks_," he declared sulkily.

Sasuke didn't bother replying - he hadn't even turned back to look at them since the teams had been announced - and Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," she said to no one in particular. Naruto got up from his seat and started spouting some rant, but she ignored him, choosing to rest her head in her hands. She just needed some time to think about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.

First, there'd been that odd _thing _that had invaded her when she'd touched Hashirama's skin and then looming even larger in her mind was the meeting with the council of elders and the Hokage this morning.

Councilor Shimura scared her. By all accounts he looked like an old man, the same age as the Hokage and the other two elders, but there was something so cold about him. There was the feeling that he would've slit her throat himself without a second thought - guilty or not - if the Hokage hadn't been there.

She lifted her face out of her hands to find Naruto perched on the desk right in front of her, staring at her intensely.

"Oh, hey," he exclaimed. "Iruka said you guys were at the Hokage's tower. You never told me what happened."

Sakura blinked a few times, not knowing what to say. She wet her dry lips with her tongue.

"I was… in trouble," she said slowly, not sure how much she could tell him.

Naruto blinked a few times in surprise. "You pull a prank or something?"

Right. Sakura forgot that Naruto knew the third Hokage. He'd probably been in that office more times than she could count. Except _he _probably hadn't had a Yamanaka pick apart her memories like it meant nothing. _He _hadn't had Councilor Shimura talk about her like an unwanted piece of clothing.

A feeling akin to jealousy and anger bloomed in her stomach. Naruto had vandalized the visages of all four Hokage carved into the mountain less than a week ago. But had _he_ been accused of being a spy?

"Something like that," she muttered darkly.

Perhaps sensing her mood, Naruto backed off, making his way to the classroom door to plan a prank on their late teacher. Half-heartedly she watched him. She doubted any jounin would fall for a simple trick like that.

It wasn't long after that the door opened once again and in stepped their new sensei. To her surprise, the blackboard eraser Naruto had set up fell straight onto his head, sending out a ploom of dust. Naruto was full on rolling on the floor in laughter and even Sasuke had an expression on his otherwise apathetic face.

The jounin was tall and lanky, with gravity-defying silver hair sticking up in spikes. He wore a mask over his lower face and one eye was covered by his headband. In fact, the only part of his face visible was a single stormy grey eye.

The man looked at them blankly and vaguely Sakura felt some tingling of recognition, as if she had seen a picture of him somewhere before.

His eye crinkled in a smile. "My first impression of you is…"

All three pairs of eyes were on him.

"I hate you."

Naruto slumped almost comically. Well he'd certainly made quite a first impression, Sakura thought irritatedly.

"Meet me on the roof in two minutes," he told them emotionlessly. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura silently stood up from her desk and followed Naruto and Sasuke out of the room. Together, the three made their way up the stairs of the academy to the roof of the building. There, they found the silver-haired jounin waiting for them.

"Good morning, my new students!" the man crowed happily when he saw them, a stark contrast to how he'd been acting before.

Sasuke glared at him.

"It's afternoon," he said cuttingly.

The jounin just tilted his head, amused. "Maa, maa, it's hard to keep track of time these days."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something but Sakura cut in. "Did you call us up here for our team meeting?"

He blinked. "Ah yes, I did indeed."

"As Iruka probably told you, we'll be Team 7 from now on," he said. "That means we need to get to know each other better. So I was thinking we could do a nice getting to know each other exercise..."

"I already know Sakura and Sasuke," Naruto said, scowling.

The masked shinobi just waved his hand. "Well, we're doing it either way so have a seat."

The three genin sat down cautiously in a semi-circle around Kakashi. Sakura wriggled a bit uncomfortably. The roof of the academy was covered in gravel and the sun had been out long enough that it had heated up to an unbearably hot level. Looking at the others, she noticed that Kakashi and Sasuke didn't seem to notice at all and even Naruto wasn't showing any sign of being bothered.

Normally she would've complained about it but as she opened her mouth she stopped herself. Did she really want her first impression on her new sensei to be as a whining little girl? She bit her tongue and shut her mouth.

"Alright," their jounin sensei started. "How about we go in a circle and introduce our likes, dislikes and goal for the future."

He looked to Naruto as if to indicate to start, but the blond boy stared at him blankly.

"Uh, how about you go first as an example?" he asked sheepishly.

The jounin sighed.

"Alright then. My name is Kakashi Hatake," he said.

Sakura's mind was sluggish today from lack of sleep but even that didn't stop her from recognizing the name. She'd thought she recognized his face and it was true. Kakashi Hatake… he was in the bingo books. The copy-nin of Konoha, son of the White Fang. He had a sharingan in one eye supposedly. Was that why he'd been chosen for their team? To train Sasuke?

"I have a lot of likes and a lot of dislikes," he continued. "And as for my goal for the future..."

Kakashi paused and chuckled. "I can't tell you."

Naruto groaned. "You literally didn't tell us anything except your name."

The jounin just shrugged. "Ok blondie. You're up."

Naruto stuck out his lip but conceded. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he crowed happily. "I like eating ramen and hanging out with Iruka-sensei and playing pranks. I dislike food that isn't ramen and," here he looked at Sasuke, "Sasuke."

"My goal in life is to become the Hokage and have everyone recognize me!" he finished off.

Sakura almost snorted, as if that was a surprise. Naruto had announced his 'goal' to the class practically every single day back in the academy. Kakashi seemed to take it all in stride though.

"That's nice," he told Naruto appeasingly, although without an ounce of sincerity. He then turned to Sasuke. "You're up!"

Sasuke scowled at the roof in front of him.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," he said coldly and while before Sakura probably would've fantasized over his cool tone, now she actually felt a pinprick of fear run down her spine.

"I don't like many things," Sasuke continued, "however, there are many things I dislike."

Here, Sakura winced a bit. She had the feeling his words were aimed at her. Sasuke had always called her annoying after all.

"As for my goal..." he said. "It is less of a goal and more of a future. I will kill a certain man and avenge my clan."

If she'd been uneasy when he started speaking, Sakura was now scared. Even the air seemed to grow thicker as Sasuke uttered his words darkly.

The tension remained for a moment before Kakashi broke it with a simple eye crinkled.

"Sounds good," he said to Sasuke as if he hadn't heard a word the boy had said. Then the jounin turned to her. She didn't need to wait for him to tell her it was her turn.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," she said, introducing herself. "I like…"

She thought about it. What did she even like? Training? Not really, it just made her muscles sore. Friends? She didn't really have any. She ate lunch with the other girls, sure, but they weren't _friends_ \- they were just as likely to stab her in the back.

Blinking a few times, she decided to leave it unanswered and move on.

"I dislike…"

_Mizuki, Councilor Shimura,_ her mind immediately filled in. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to say it out loud though.

"-people who take advantage of others," she said instead.

"And my goal is…"

She knew what her goal was, right? She'd loudly proclaimed it multiple times in the past. Her goal was to marry Sasuke. She cast a glance at the black-haired Uchiha. He wasn't even looking at her.

Narrowing her eyes a bit, she noticed that something about him had changed. There was something… _off_ about him.

Normally she could've fangirled over him for hours but there was just something different about him now that she looked at him closely. Was it his hair? No, it was the same glossy black as always. His eyes? Nope. He still stared sullenly into the distance.

With a start, Sakura realized that Sasuke hadn't changed at all.

She had.

Mentally, she slapped herself. What was wrong with her? She'd done so many things just in the past few hours that she never would've done before. Sakura cringed. She'd sat next to Naruto for one, which was tantamount to social suicide. And then she'd stumbled over her words again when he asked her why she liked Sasuke. She was slipping. Despite the events of the past day she needed to get herself together, otherwise Sasuke would never see her worth.

Unbidden, another, quieter voice spoke up inside her. Would that be all that bad though? Did Sasuke really matter? To be completely honest she liked herself better like this.

Kakashi coughed loudly, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Your goal, Sakura?" he unsubtly nudged.

Sakura frowned and looked down at the gravel of the roof below her.

"I don't know," she finished lamely.

Both the boys were staring at her curiously and she felt herself flush in embarrassment. She looked away.

Kakashi sighed and unfolded himself from his sitting position on the roof to tower over them.

"Alright, well that was an informative meeting."

Yeah right.

"Do whatever you want for the rest of the day. I have a meeting to get to. I'll see you tomorrow morning at 6 am at our team training grounds. Don't be late!"

With a poof of smoke he was gone.


	4. chapter 3

**A/N: OK! WARNING! MAJOR CHANGE FROM CANON AHEAD: dun dun dun... I WILL NOT BE WRITING THE BELL TEST. Okok, I know this is kinda really major, especially since Kakashi didn't really want to teach them at first. But from what I had planned in my story, there wouldn't have been any major changes in the bell test anyways, so I just decided it wasn't worth the effort to write (or read, it would've been pretty dry lol). Also, in my opinion, the canon bell test didn't really change anything for team 7 anyways. While they did work together slightly at the end, Naruto and Sasuke went back to arguing again right after it so did it even really matter? However, if you think this is too big of a change, feel free to just act as if the bell test occurred before this chapter, exactly as in canon. **

**On that note, here's a new chapter where, hopefully, Sakura grows up a bit! Enjoy :)**

* * *

[chapter 3]

Sakura woke to the shrill sound of her alarm going off.

She rolled over and pressed a pillow over her head but the sound didn't stop.

Groggily, she sat up and slammed a fist down on the machine, not really caring if it broke as long as it stopped the infernal _beeping_.

Blinking the weariness from her eyes, she looked outside to see that the moon was still in the sky. It was early, earlier than she'd ever woken up before. The academy only started at nine, so to be awake at five felt terrible.

Fighting off the urge to just lie down and go back to sleep, Sakura slowly rolled off the bed. She shivered in the cold morning air, already missing the comfort of her blankets. But she was up now, so she resolutely went about her morning routine, brushing her teeth and combing her hair.

She stopped before her wardrobe, pulling out the red dress that she normally wore. She hesitated. She wanted to look good for their first day of team training and missions of course, but it was _cold._ Besides, hadn't they all seen her yesterday anyways. She snorted, there was no way she could possibly look worse today.

Sakura stuffed the dress back onto a shelf, not bothering to properly fold it again, and instead pulled out a pair of black ninja pants and a long sleeve shirt. They would look nice enough and it wasn't like Ino was going to be there today to make her feel bad about her choice of clothing.

Throwing them on, she left her room, sneaking down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her mother was still sleeping and she didn't want to wake her up at this inhuman hour.

There was cereal in one of the cupboards and milk in the fridge, so she made herself a bowl and sat down at the dining table. She'd probably have to eat alone every day from now on if their sensei made them show up so early, she thought depressingly.

Finishing her breakfast, Sakura left the bowl and spoon in the sink instead of washing up. Her mother would do it later, although she'd chew Sakura out about it when she came home - because how was she supposed to become a good housewife when she didn't even wash her own dishes. Despite no one being there, she rolled her eyes. She loved her mother and all, but the woman just didn't understand a single thing about shinobi.

Her pack was by the door and she picked it up on the way out, slinging it over her back. She'd made it the night before and it had everything that she'd need today. Her lunch bento had already been made and her academy-issued kunai and shuriken - she couldn't afford her own yet - had been polished to a gleam. Stepping out of the house and locking the door behind her, she let out a small grin. She was ready.

Of course this grin had disappeared by the time she reached the main road. It was still dark and a bit creepy this time of morning. There were few people around and each one was met with a suspicious stare. The fear of attackers and shaded alleys had been ingrained in her since birth by her civilian mother and it wasn't easy to forget.

More than that though, her amusement had faded because _she had no idea where she was supposed to go._

She remembered Kakashi telling them to meet him at the team training grounds but where were those even?

Sakura sighed, mentally cursing their new teacher for not having told them before disappearing. She racked her brain. What was she supposed to do now?

The best thing to do would be to find someone who could tell her where to go, but she wasn't sure who would know. Kakashi, of course, but as far as she knew he didn't have an office and it wasn't as if she knew where he lived.

The next place that came to mind was the Hokage's tower, but Sakura winced. She'd probably be able to find her answer there. Even if the Hokage himself hadn't woken up yet, there'd certainly be some secretary who could help her. Despite this, she was reluctant to go. After the meeting with the council of elders the day before, she wanted to stay as far away as possible. She'd go if she had no other choice, she decided.

She kept walking, making her way into the center of Konoha in the hopes of finding a familiar face. She'd just passed by the academy when she did a double take.

Of course! How could she not have instantly thought of this? Iruka probably still had all the files for their team, which meant that he would know which training ground had been assigned to them.

With a bit more of a bounce to her step, Sakura turned and entered the large building. She'd been here just yesterday but already it felt different. She wasn't a student here anymore. For some reason the halls and classrooms seemed small, more childish.

She made her way to the third floor, to the room that she knew to be Iruka's office. She'd never been sent here, not for getting into trouble, but she'd been here plenty of times to help Iruka grade tests or just to file his paperwork. She had to let out a sigh. She'd really been a teacher's pet, hadn't she?

Stepping up, Sakura hesitantly knocked on the door to the office. There was no reply and she couldn't hear anything from within.

She shook her head at herself. The sun wasn't even up yet, he probably wasn't here. She'd just have to go to the Hokage's tower, she decided, preparing to leave. It wouldn't be _that_ bad after all.

Just as she was about to go, a voice called out from within.

"Come in!"

Sakura carefully opened the door and peeked her head in. Iruka sat at his desk, a mountain of paperwork stacked in front of him and a steaming cup of coffee at his side. He looked exhausted, with dark circles lining his eyes and usually neat ponytail in disarray.

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei," Sakura greeted softly.

Iruka looked up. "Sakura! What a surprise! What are you doing here so early?"

She gave a shy smile. "I was actually looking for you, Iruka-sensei."

"You do know that you've graduated right," Iruka said teasingly. "That means you don't have to come here anymore."

Sakura blushed a little.

"Ah, sorry! Where are my manners," Iruka said quickly, standing up from behind his desk and pulling out another chair. "Come in and sit down!"

Closing the door behind her, she sank down into the almost couch-like cushion across from Iruka.

"Would you like some coffee as well?"

Sakura thought about it. On one hand she'd gone searching for Iruka with the intentions to make it a quick visit, just dropping by long enough to find out where the training grounds were. But then again she'd woken up much too early, being the worrywart she was, and as such she had plenty of time to spare.

"I'd love some coffee," she responded with a smile. Besides, hopefully the caffeine would keep her awake through whatever Kakashi had planned for them today.

Iruka retrieved another mug from a small cupboard in a corner of the room and placed it under the electric coffee maker on the table below it. Was he here this early every day? Based on the many personal belongings scattered around the room as well as the stack of unwashed coffee cups piled up beside the coffee maker, Sakura suspected he was.

As she watched him make the coffee, she found herself admiring his dedication. It was still hours before the start of school, so to come here during his precious free time in the morning and already begin working… It was truly inspiring. Iruka loved his job, she realized. Being an academy teacher wasn't glamorous in the least, not to mention having to deal with annoying kids all day, but she supposed she could understand his passion at least slightly. There was something about the idea that you were helping others start off on their own paths, that you could influence them at such a young age in whichever way you wanted.

"So," Iruka said, placing a steaming mug of coffee in front of her and sitting back down. "What can I help you with, Sakura?"

"Well our sensei told us to meet him at our team training grounds, but he disappeared before I could ask him where they were," Sakura explained a bit sheepishly. She felt a bit awkward that Iruka had taken the time to make her coffee and everything when she'd only come here to ask a question that she easily could've found out herself by actually going to the training grounds.

"Of course," he said, not seeming in the least bit annoyed to her relief. "I can find that for you." Iruka shuffled through the legitimate mountain of paperwork that he'd shoved to the side with an ease that revealed just how many hours he must've spent sitting here, going through the various forms and documents.

He pulled out a thin manila folder and Sakura caught a glimpse of a large number '7' stamped in red. She took a small sip of her hot coffee.

Iruka flipped through the various papers contained inside and she saw pictures of both her, Naruto and Sasuke staring up at her. If she had to bet, she'd say those were their individual assessment pages.

Sakura stifled the urge to lean over and look at them closer. Technically they were village information after all and she didn't have the necessary security clearance. So she pushed down her curiosity about learning what her teachers thought of her and patiently waited for Iruka to finish.

"Ah!" Iruka exclaimed, seemingly finding what he'd been looking for. "Let's see…"

He glanced over the document that he'd pulled out. "I believe your team training ground is training ground three," he told her with a smile.

That was one of the training grounds closer to the center of the village, if she remembered right. They were arranged by numerical value, with training ground one being the nearest and the others after that spiraling out further.

"I appreciate it," she told Iruka gratefully.

"No problem at all," he assured her. "When did your sensei say to meet up?"

She recalled the parting phrase of the jounin the day before. "Kakashi-sensei told us to meet him at 6, I think."

Iruka chuckled and she looked up at him in surprise.

"Kakashi is a shinobi well known for being tardy," he explained when he saw her confusion. "You will not have to be there anytime before 8."

That made sense. After all, Kakashi had technically shown up two hours later then he'd been supposed to yesterday, although they hadn't had to wait that long since Sakura and Iruka had shown up late as well, delaying the team selection. Thinking back on it, she felt a bit guilty. All the other jounin-sensei who hadn't shown up late had probably had to wait because of her, not the mention her classmates.

Looking outside she guessed it was about 5:44 in the morning. At this time of year the sun usually rose at about 5:42 and it had just begun peeking its blazing tendrils over the horizon. She sighed. If Iruka was right - and she didn't doubt he was - that meant she had at least two more hours to wait. She supposed Sasuke and Naruto would be there at about 6, since they probably didn't know of their new sensei's tendencies yet, but she wasn't really eager to face them at the moment. She still didn't know how she felt about Sasuke, and what she had learned last night…

She bit her lip and grimaced.

"You're welcome to wait here," Iruka said kindly, seemingly picking up on her unwillingness.

"Oh no, I wouldn't to impose," Sakura blurted out, her eyes straying to the large pile of work on his desk.

He followed her gaze and laughed. "Don't worry, I'm actually working ahead right now, so there's nothing urgent that needs to be done. Besides, I'd love to have some company. I won't be seeing any of you anymore now that you've all graduated."

She relaxed. It was obvious he meant it and she'd gladly take him up on his offer if it meant not having to face Sasuke and… Naruto. There were just too many confusing feelings and thoughts that she needed to sort out first.

"I'd have thought you'd be happy to have us out of your hair," she said teasingly.

"It was odd waking up this morning and realizing that I wouldn't be teaching any of you anymore," he admitted.

"You sure you aren't at least partly relieved?" she said with a grin.

Iruka chuckled. "You guys were a handful, but I can't say I won't miss you. Even the troublemakers like Kiba and Naruto. They were a pain in the ass to teach but as I told the other teachers I could always see the potential in their hearts, annoying little brats as they were."

Unconsciously, Sakura stiffened up a bit at Naruto's name. It didn't pass by Iruka's notice.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?"

Instantly the words 'of course not' were on her tongue, but Sakura hesitated. Despite his apparently close relationship with Naruto, in the years she had known him Iruka had always been kind and willing to offer new perspectives. She'd never felt that she couldn't confide in him. In that way, he'd been the perfect teacher.

"If I ask you something," Sakura said slowly, a bit unsure of herself. "Will you give me an honest answer?"

Iruka tilted his head and gave her a gentle smile. "Of course I will. Have I ever been less then honest with you throughout your academy years?"

She shook her head. He hadn't.

"Then ask, Sakura," he encouraged.

She bit her lip and nervously looked down at the mug in her hands.

"What do you think of Naruto, Iruka-sensei?" She asked quietly.

He blinked a few times in confusion. "It's as I said before. Naruto is quite the troublemaker but his heart is in the right place. I know he's quite disruptive in class sometimes but-"

Iruka suddenly stopped talking, as if he had realized something, and slowly examined her. She refused to meet his eyes.

"Councilor Shimura…" he said, no hint of doubt in his tone yet a questioning look in his eyes that seemed to beg her to contradict him. "The Hokage's office yesterday…"

Sakura nodded softly with her head downcast but then glanced up at him. The room was quiet as Iruka closed his eyes in some sort of emotion and let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly burst out. "I was just… curious."

She'd been on her way home yesterday when she'd passed by the library. Councilor Shimura's words had flashed through her mind and resolutely she'd decided to find out what exactly the title 'jinchuuriki' meant. She'd found it quite quickly of course: the word jinchuuriki literally meant 'human sacrifice'. Add that to the fact that Naruto had been born 12 years ago on the day that the nine-tailed beast attacked Konoha and that the villagers called him a 'demon'. It hadn't been hard to piece together.

And now… There was no way she could face Naruto after what she had learned. She didn't want to admit it, but burning deep inside her was _fear._ She'd never in a thousand years have thought that she'd be afraid of _Naruto_, but she was.

Iruka shook his head slowly.

"Sakura," he told her sadly. Something shone behind his eyes. "There are things that it would be wise not to meddle in. Sometimes it is for the better to stop digging, to resign yourself to not knowing. There are many secrets in this village which are too painful to keep. I only hope that you will never learn them."

She looked at him. "Did you-"

He cut her off. "Sakura."

She decided not to continue the line of conversation, instead looking down at the desk with a mixture of anxiety and anger.

"I don't know what to do, Iruka-sensei," she confessed, emotion leaking into her voice. "I'm scared of him. How can I be on a team with… with a _demon_!"

Iruka didn't respond and she glanced up only to see him still, his eyes filling with anger of his own. A heavy, cold feeling filled the room and it felt so _horrible_, like death and decay and fear and threats. Her eyes widening in horror, Sakura scrambled back instantly, her chair screeching against the floor as she instinctively tried to move further away from Iruka.

The sound seemed to bring her teacher back to the present, though his eyes clearing. The weight in the room lightening as well, as if it had never been there at all. Iruka closed his eyes and took a long breath to collect himself.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he breathed out and she could hear the guilt in his voice. "I should've kept a better hold on my emotions."

Even still she could feel his killing intent lingering on her skin, but she gave him a shaky smile. "It's early," she said in offering, as if it could explain away what had just happened.

Iruka shook his head. "Nevertheless, I am at fault. I apologize."

An uncomfortable silence stretched out between them. Sakura didn't know what to say. Was it because of what she'd said about Naruto? She knew that Iruka shared a close bond with the blond-haired boy, but if her sensei knew about him being the nine-tails, why had he gotten so angry?

Iruka let out a sigh. "Sakura look at me," he said and instantly her head shot up.

He studied her silently for a moment.

"Sakura," he said finally. "Tell me. Why do you like Sasuke."

She frowned, confused and a bit irritated. What did Sasuke have to do with this? She'd told him how she felt and he was bringing up _this_?

"But weren't we talking about-"

"I know," Iruka said, cutting her off. "Please answer the question."

While the rational part of her told her to just calm down and answer Iruka honestly, she'd always been hotheaded and the irritation and anger with her teacher burned through her.

"You wouldn't understand," she spat, giving him the same answer she'd given Naruto yesterday.

Iruka stared at her, a brief look of disappointment crossing his face. For some reason this just made Sakura angrier. Who was he to be disappointed in her? As if she cared.

He shook his head. "I'd appreciate an answer regardless," he said and now the kindness he'd shown her before was gone. This was the voice he used when teaching, demanding obedience.

Sakura could feel the heat rising to her face. "This isn't fair," she said hotly. "Why are you even asking me? Everyone else likes him too!"

Iruka's face didn't soften but he nodded, as if he'd gotten the answer he wanted.

"Exactly," he said. "You like Sasuke because everyone else does. Will you hate Naruto because everyone else does too?"

Sakura paused, stunned. "I-"

She closed her mouth.

Iruka shook his head and finally his expression softened. "Sakura. You have heard me say this before, but you have so much potential. You're not one of the many, a mindless sheep blindly following orders. You are _not_ canon fodder, someone sent to the front lines just to be cut down in seconds."

She'd never heard Iruka talk like this before. He'd always told them that they were each talented in their own way. To listen to him speak of death and war like this, it scared her. Despite how controversial it was there was no regret in Iruka's tone.

"So stop trying to fit in and walk your own path," he told her harshly. His voice lowered in volume.

"I truly believe in you Sakura," he said, and she felt something in her heart warm. "I've always thought that you were destined for great things. Prove me right."

There was silence again, but less uncomfortable than before. She took in his words. She hadn't even realized it, but when she reached up she felt tears running down her face. That Iruka thought so highly of her… It was nice for a change, to know that someone believed in her.

"You have a good heart, despite what you may believe," his eyes seemed to see down to her soul, "you can be a better person, Sakura."

She let out a silent sob and wiped the tears away from her eyes with her sleeves.

She looked at her former teacher.

"I should probably go," she said quietly. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei." _for the coffee and the talk_ went unsaid.

Sakura got up, but as she reached the door to his office the sound of his voice stopped her.

"Sakura," he called. She turned back around. "Just…"

He paused.

"Just try to judge Naruto for yourself. Talk to him and form your own opinions. Don't just believe what everyone says. Just because it is the most widespread opinion does not mean it is true, or right."

She answered just a beat too late for it to be natural. "Of course, Iruka-sensei. Thanks again."

He didn't stop her this time and she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaving him to his work. It was sometime after six now and the sun had risen higher in the sky.

She made her way down the mostly empty streets. Civilians didn't tend to wake up until later in the morning and almost all shinobi took the rooftops to get to where they needed to go. It was faster, apparently. Thoughtfully, she wondered when Kakashi would teach them how to do that. It was embarrassing to be a genin and still have to walk on the ground.

When she reached the training ground Iruka had instructed her to she found no one in sight. It was a nice training ground to be honest, better than the one connected to the academy. The large, grassy clearing was surrounded by dense trees and there was a small river running alongside it. Beneath the still rosy glow of dawn the entire area presented a peaceful sight.

Hidden just out of view from where she'd entered she spotted a small bridge which crossed the river. Deciding to wait there for her teammates, she peacefully strolled over.

To her surprise, Naruto was already waiting there, sitting on one of the railings and swinging his feet in the air. She stopped in her tracks, about to turn back around when Iruka's parting words ran in her head again.

_Just try to judge Naruto for yourself_.

She sighed and resolutely continued her path to the bridge. Wordlessly she climbed up to sit on the railing beside Naruto and looked down. It really was even more beautiful here. The rising sun cast a sort of fiery light on the streaming water below, lighting it up to make it seem like tendrils of flame. It was an odd sort of beauty, the type of beauty that both scared and entranced you. The trees lining the banks of the river were cast in the light too, making it seem like autumn instead of spring.

As she watched the trees sway in the gentle breeze, an odd - and slightly unsettling - sense of ancientness infused her. It was like the feeling she'd felt down in Hashirama's crypt, she remarked to herself, although without any panic. No, the sense was much too calm for fear to have any place in her mind at the moment.

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically.

"Good morning, Naruto," she replied peacefully, entranced by the tranquilness granted to her by the trees.

The boy only scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh right, so um, do you know where Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei are? Cause I've been here for a while and so far no one's showed up. I was starting to think I was at the wrong place until you came."

How had Naruto even found out which training grounds they were supposed to meet on?

"I haven't seen Sasuke," she told him instead. "And Kakashi-sensei has a habit of being late, so he'll likely be here around 8."

"Eh!" Naruto exclaimed. "But that's in, like, more than an hour."

Sakura just shrugged. "Guess we have to wait."

She looked away, back at the water and the _beautiful _trees, and Naruto seemed to get the message.

She watched the nature around them, not really seeing it as much as _feeling _it. The sense of calm was like a drug, she decided, one that she never wanted to get off of. She'd been apprehensive about this meeting since yesterday evening but now that she was actually sitting here next to him… she wasn't scared anymore.

He was just… Naruto, she realized.

Naruto was casting occasional glances her way and she recognized the look. She'd felt it many times before, although not now. Fear.

Sakura almost wanted to laugh. Here she'd been, scared to her wit's end by the demon in him and he'd been scared of _her._ She supposed it made sense. He'd never really had any friends at the academy and now here she was being relatively nice to him. Of course he was scared that he'd accidentally ruin it. Somehow, this image of an insecure little kid seemed to fit him better than the loud and obnoxious one he'd created for himself.

And maybe it was the peacefulness of their surroundings and the strange sense of calm that the nature around her granted her mind, but Sakura suddenly understood what Iruka had meant.

_Just try to judge Naruto for himself._

Naruto wasn't a demon. He was just a scared and lonely little boy.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, taking a moment to appreciate the slight breeze brushing across her face. Then she hopped off the railing and onto the bridge.

Naruto looked at her in surprise and she gestured for him to join her. Cautiously he slid off the railing to come stand in front of her. Something tugged at her heartstrings. Naruto hadn't had anyone there for him growing up.

Sakura hugged him.

He froze but she didn't let go, only embracing him tighter. After a long moment, hesitantly, Naruto wrapped his own arms around her. They stood like that for a while, neither feeling the need to say anything. She felt something wet on his cheeks. He was crying.

She'd do her best to be a better person, and that meant being there for him.


	5. chapter 4

**A/N: My apologies for the slightly shorter chapter this time! I just wasn't feeling that inspired and I mainly wanted SAKURA TO FINALLY STOP BEING A SASUKE-FANGIRL in this chapter (spoiler warning: accomplished!). On that note, next chapter things will finally start happening and the plot will start moving forward. Just at warning though, things are going to stray pretty far from canon, at least until the chunin exam. Anyways, more info to come and as always, enjoy!**

* * *

[chapter 4]

They'd spent the rest of the hour talking about meaningless things and with each minute Sakura could've sworn she saw Naruto smile brighter.

He wasn't bad to be honest and his mischievous sense of humour was refreshing. In terms of people their own age she'd only really interacted with a few of the other girls at the academy, and even then the talk had mostly been about guys and vain, superficial things. It hurt, but she could hardly even remember why she'd cared that much. Years of her life, wasted.

Sasuke had shown up about half an hour before eight.

He walked past without any greeting, sitting down a little bit away from them on the other side of the bridge.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Sakura said brightly.

He ignored her.

She sighed and turned back to Naruto. Despite the irritation that had welled up when Sasuke didn't even acknowledge her, she knew it was her fault.

_You like Sasuke because everyone else does._

Maybe if she hadn't fangirled over him for years they could've been friends by now. That would've been nice, she reflected thoughtfully.

The trio spent a few more moments in silence and Sakura thought about it.

The sense of calm had mostly faded by now - it'd been strongest as the rising sun illuminated the beauty of their surroundings - but it was still there, in a subtler way. It was nice, helpful even. She felt like she could think about things without anger, without pride. She could _see_ the truth.

She'd made peace with Naruto in the hopes of starting a friendship. What did she want with Sasuke? If Iruka was right - and deep down she acknowledged that he was - then she needed to stop pursuing a romantic relationship. Not to mention that it was driving him away, apparently it wasn't even what she wanted in the first place. So what did she want?

Sasuke was strong. Cold and not friendly in the least, but strong. She respected that, and in all honesty she was jealous. She wished she was as cool and powerful as him. While she'd had the highest academic marks at the academy, Sasuke had always led in physical marks such as sparring and accuracy. She wished that she had his seemingly effortless grace and fighting prowess.

She wanted to be friends.

She wanted friendship with Sasuke, Sakura decided. She wanted the same thing him and Naruto had, even if they didn't acknowledge it, where both encouraged the other to grow stronger. _She _wanted to grow stronger.

"Sasuke," she called out, suddenly coming to a decision and doing her best to push aside her worries.

The black haired boy turned slightly and sent her a glance. He didn't bother responding but she understood the wordless sign that he had heard her.

"I'm not going to fangirl over you anymore," she said determinedly.

She swore she saw surprise flash over his face for an instant, as if that wasn't what he'd expected her to say, before his face was blank again.

"Hn," he replied emotionlessly, turning away again.

But she smiled. She'd done it. She'd pushed aside her misgivings and said what she needed to say.

Beside her Naruto had a much more obvious reaction.

"Eh? You're finally over the bastard?" he crowed happily.

Sakura nodded at him, knowing Sasuke was listening.

"Iruka asked me the same thing this morning that you did yesterday," she said. "He asked why I liked Sasuke. And I realized that the reason I liked him was because everyone else - all the other girls in the class - did too. So I decided that since my feelings were never genuine in the first place, I should place our team coherence as a priority and make sure that Sasuke didn't feel awkward working with me."

Naruto was staring at her in wonder and surprise and even Sasuke seemed shocked from what she could see.

"That's really… inspiring, Sakura," Naruto said slowly.

Sakura frowned but laughed genuinely, feeling her heart lighten as she did. "Inspiring?' she asked teasingly. "Does that mean you had a crush on Sasuke too?"

Naruto blushed and immediately twisted his face up, disgusted.

"Ew! No, of course not," he shouted.

"It's just," he looked at her shyly. "I wish I was as cool as you, Sakura."

She grinned. That's right. She, Sakura Haruno, was cool. It had felt good, to put aside the opinions of others and hug Naruto, to summon up the courage to tell Sasuke how she felt. It had been freeing almost, the sense of breaking free of her restrictions.

Truly, she wanted to become a better person, and with what she'd done in a single morning… well, it didn't feel so impossible anymore.

Kakashi, of course, chose this moment to reveal himself.

"What? You don't want to be as cool as your new sensei, Naruto?" he asked, feigning hurt.

Naruto practically jumped into the air in surprise, turning to face Kakashi.

"You!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at the silver-haired jounin. "You're late!"

Kakashi scratched his head. "Ah, sorry about that. I was on my away here when I saw an old lady crossing the street, and being the good citizen I am I couldn't just leave her…"

That was a blatant lie if she'd ever heard one, but thankfully due to Iruka's warning of Kakashi's tendencies she wasn't that peeved. Not as much as Naruto, at least.

"Liar!" He yelled loudly and Sakura was sure her eardrums had broken due to the frequency. "We had to wait for you, for like, _forever_."

Kakashi attempted an apologetic smile and patted the blond on the head. "Well I'm here now, so do you guys want to go on your first official mission?"

Instantly, Naruto perked up, seemingly forgetting his anger. It was odd how fast he could switch between personalities like that, in a way that didn't seem quite normal.

"Yes! We're going on a mission!" he called loudly. He turned to her, "Sakura, did you hear that? We're going on a mission!"

Yes, she had indeed heard Kakashi. Sakura fought down the urge to hit Naruto on the head, telling herself that this was just his way of showing his excitement.

"Yeah, that's cool," she said instead.

She sighed. Naruto probably hadn't been listening during one of Iruka's many lectures in the academy, but she had. All fresh genin started out with D-ranked missions, except in times of war. And as far as she knew, D-ranks weren't very interesting.

Iruka had explained how the missions were classified. The ranks corresponded to the mission's possible danger and level of importance. Less dangerous missions such as C or D-ranks were usually either within Konohagakure or in the land surrounding it - Fire Country. These missions had little to no chance of combat against other ninja, although C-ranks could include contact with bandits or low-ranked mercenaries.

As the ranks increased, so did the danger. Iruka had presented a set of statistics to them: the percentage of deaths on a mission increased exponentially as the rank went up. S-ranks were the worst, assigned to only a few extraordinary shinobi. Darkly, she remembered a chunin jokingly telling them that the 'S' stood for 'Suicide'.

Kakashi handed Naruto a scroll which she assumed contained their mission details. As Naruto eagerly opened it, she prepared herself for his inevitable disappointment.

D-ranks were only within the village, and as such, were usually mundane tasks. They were designed to slowly get genin accustomed to dealing with clients and the more difficult missions that would come.

"Our mission is painting a fence!?" Naruto cried loudly in dismay. Sakura winced. If her eardrums hadn't been broken before, they certainly were now.

Sasuke was frowning too, looking disappointed. Had he seriously not been listening to Iruka either? She'd expected it of Naruto, but Sasuke had taken the top spot of the class.

"It's good practice," Kakashi told them cheerfully.

Well that was technically true at least. They'd never have to necessarily paint a fence on a real mission, but it would help them with basic physical abilities.

"Anyways, let's get a move on. We're supposed to be there around," he glanced up at the sun, "now."

Sakura groaned and Naruto looked like he wanted to punch Kakashi.

The jounin held up his hands appeasingly. "Maa, maa, calm down. It doesn't matter that much that we're late."

The three genin relaxed.

"All it means is that according to the village guidelines the client technically doesn't have to pay us anymore."

"What!?" Naruto screamed in outrage, leaping towards Kakashi.

He landed smack on the ground of course, the jounin having disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura rolled her eyes and went to help Naruto up. She turned to Sasuke who'd picked up the scroll Naruto had dropped in his hurry to attack their teacher.

"Does it say where we're supposed to go?"

Sasuke nodded. "Hn. It says the client lives on a farm to the west."

He sounded a bit awkward, as if he wasn't quite sure how to interact with her yet, but that didn't faze her. That he'd even responded was a step in the right direction. Now all she had to do was prove that she'd meant what she'd said and maybe he'd warm up to her.

"I'm pretty sure I know what farm that is," she said with a smile. "I can take you guys there."

It was true. She had a pretty good idea of which farm they were supposed to go to. The fact that she'd been born to civilians was, for once, a good thing. Her father had been a merchant, travelling and exchanging goods throughout Fire Country and the surrounding lands, and she remembered going to the farm when she was little. Supposedly, they grew a special type of crop there, a sort of modified wheat that held much more nutrients. It was one of the ingredients in the soldier pills that shinobi used frequently, which explained why the farm was inside the village, she supposed.

The journey to the farm wasn't bad. All three were too focused on getting there as fast as possible to talk. She sprinted through the streets of the village as fast as she could, but Sakura felt a bit guilty. She knew she was holding them up. They all wanted to get there as fast as possible, but since she was the only one who knew the way, Sasuke and Naruto had to match her speed. She narrowed her eyes, determined to get faster.

Unluckily, their training grounds were in the opposite direction from the farm, but they still made it there in good time, only about fifteen minutes after they had supposed to arrive.

All three genin came to a stop, sweating and breathing heavily. Sakura had it worse than the other two, her legs barely able to support her.

Kakashi and a man who she vaguely remembered as the owner of the farm stood in front of them.

"So I see you've finally arrived," Kakashi said, looking down at them. "I thought I told you to be here fifteen minutes ago."

Naruto's jaw dropped in surprise. "What!? But-"

"Ah, yes. I appreciate _you_ being on time," the farmer said gruffly to Kakashi.

Naruto closed his mouth, narrowing his eyes at their teacher in anger. Sakura rolled her eyes. Kakashi had probably planned this all, informing them too late of the mission and then shunshining all the way here to make it way before them and on time.

"I'm going to kill you," Naruto hissed.

Kakashi laughed nervously. "Ahaha. Well we should probably go inside and get the paint."

The farmer nodded. "My wife is inside. She'll help you out."

Sakura gave him a polite nod, a bit disappointed that he hadn't recognized her, and the three made their way into the small farmhouse.

Inside, the farmer's wife turned out to be much kinder than her husband. She also instantly recognized Sakura.

"Darling! Look how much you've grown," she exclaimed with a smile once she saw them. She immediately embraced her in her arms.

It was a tight hug and Sakura's cheeks flushed when she realized how close she was pressed up against the other woman's chest.

"It's nice to see you again," Sakura greeted politely. She gently slipped out of the hug, a bit embarrassed.

"Eh? You know her, Sakura?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh yes," the farmer's wife - Shimizu, she remembered - said. "Sakura used to visit us all the time with her father!"

"Oh," Naruto said. "Is he a farmer or something?"

A silence followed his words.

She looked down awkwardly. "He was a merchant," she told her team.

Shimizu winced.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to remind you," she said, and Sakura could hear her sincerity. "I heard what happened."

"Huh?" Naruto didn't seem to get it.

Sakura sighed. "My father died about a year ago. He was attacked by shinobi from another country near the border," she explained quietly. They deserved to know. "My mother was, well, against me becoming a kunoichi after that, but…"

She shrugged. "Here I am."

Naruto's eyes saddened. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to…" he trailed off.

Sakura met Naruto's eyes. "It's fine. It was a while ago. We weren't that close anymore by that time anyways."

The blond frowned, unnaturally serious. "Still… I just - I know how it feels."

Sasuke looked away.

Right. She'd forgotten they were both orphans. Naruto had never known his parents and for Sasuke it was probably even worse. He'd known his parents only to have them ripped away from him by his own brother.

She was lucky, she knew. Her father was gone and her relationship with her mother was strained - she'd probably move out soon - but she'd had a happy childhood, she'd _known_ them at least.

"Well," Shimizu interrupted with a voice that was too cheerful to not be forced. "How about I get you three started?"

Sakura smiled gratefully, thankful for the conversation change. "That'd be great. We're painting the farms fences, correct?"

"That's right! The paint is peeling a bit though, so first you'll have to scrape off the old paint before adding the new coat."

Kakashi gave the older woman an eye crinkle. "Well, just show us where to go and I'm sure my team will have it done in no time at all."

The three genin were handed scrapers, little metal plates with a sharp edge, and then sent out into the fields.

It hadn't been so hot at first, but as the sun rose and the temperature grew sweltering. Soon, Sakura was regretting having put on the long pants and shirt. If only she'd worn the red dress then maybe she wouldn't feel like she was about to melt, she thought with a sigh. She looked over at Sasuke and Naruto and winced, changing her mind. While they'd all been given large straw hats to shade their faces, the boys' exposed limbs had suffered under the sun. Their arms and legs had turned bright red, and Sakura had to stifle a laugh at what type of tan lines they must have now.

Shimizu took pity on them though, inviting them inside for a cool glass of lemonade. All three genin promptly decided they had never tasted anything better.

The fences had been scraped within an hour though, and the paint job was done in three. By around midday they had finished the mission and they happily made their way back to the village, although with only half the pay. The farmer had indeed taken advantage of the fact that they had shown up late, and it was only due to the kindness of his wife that they'd even made a bit . Not that they'd get to keep it, of course, since the village demanded a percentage of every mission - in fact, they were _losing _money. Still, the job was done and all three genin were in high spirits.

"Hey, Sakura! Do you want to go get ramen with me from Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked enthusiastically, bounding up to her, and she had to laugh at how much his body looked like a tomato.

She squinted against the bright sun. "I don't know, Naruto. It's way too hot for ramen."

He slumped dejectedly.

"Uh, maybe we can get something cold instead?" she offered, feeling guilty.

The blond perked up again instantly. "Yeah! I know a nice place. Let's go!"

He made to run off but Sakura grabbed his arm.

"Woah, woah, hold it," she said laughingly. "You didn't even ask if Sasuke wanted to come."

Naruto made a face. "Does the bastard really have to come with us? Besides, he probably thinks he's too high and mighty to eat with us commoners."

Sakura sighed. "Sasuke, do you want to come get lunch with us?"

"Hn. Sure."

Naruto glared at him with narrowed eyes, as if he didn't really believe that the Uchiha had agreed. Personally, she suspected he was going more to piss off Naruto than because he actually wanted to, but still it made her smile a bit.

She turned to their sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, do you want to come as well?"

He looked down at her with a comically pained expression. "Ah, well, you see, since you three showed up late today and the farmer refused to pay us in full… my wallet has been feeling a little thin."

"My treat," she offered with a grin.

The silver-haired man gave an eye-crinkle. "Well if you're offering…" he said, as if he hadn't been shamelessly leading her into it.

A smile lit up across her face as Naruto dragged her off, Sasuke and Kakashi trailing after them. She hadn't really got it at first, but now she felt it.

They were a team. And gods be damned if she would ever let them go.


	6. chapter 5

**A/N: And finally the plot advances! I was actually really excited to write this chapter, and I've got quite a few ideas for what will happen next. As you can probably guess, this C-rank is going to turn just as interesting for Sakura as the Land of Waves mission did. Anyways, while I'm not too sure about how well I did on the timeskip part at the beginning (let me know what you think), overall I personally liked this chapter, especially the scene between Kakashi and Sarutobi. It was kinda weird to change perspectives, but unfortunately it was definitely necessary.**

**Next, a very important note: In canon, Kakashi basically doesn't train them at all, instead just leaving them to his own devices (at least that's sort of what I remember, I haven't actually watched the show in a while oops!). When he does train them, he focuses mainly on Sasuke and Naruto, ignoring Sakura. ****To my regret, I have indeed used my unlimited power as a fanfiction author to change this (sorry!). While I have a bit of reasoning behind it (the fact that Sakura doesn't introduce herself as a fangirl means that Kakashi takes her a bit more seriously, and the fact that her father is gone and her relationship with her mother is strained could lead to Kakashi relating a bit more with her as well as the boys), mostly it's just me disliking him in canon but wanting to write a likeable character. Please let me know if you think that this is just too unrealistic, and I'll try my best to change it a little. **

**Also, on a different note, this chapter ended up being a bit shorter than average yet again (I normally tend to aim for about 5k words approximately). I just kinda needed to stop it and thought this was a good place, I guess.**

**Finally, I'd just like to say how grateful I am for all the people who left reviews! It's really heartwarming to see people enjoying my story even through all its many inconsistencies and weird plotholes, and I especially enjoy the constructive criticism (shoutout to Alexxya for giving me feedback on every single chapter, I really appreciated it!). If I ever end up finishing the story and moving on to rewriting it, I'll make sure to incorporate all of it! Unfortunately, I'm not the most knowledgeable about the Naruto universe (watched the show and read the manga but that was a year or so ago. I mostly just read fanfics about it now and rely on my brother for information, so a lot of things in my story might be inaccurate, but I do really value the time you guys take to write a review!**

**Anyways, enough rambling! Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!**

* * *

[chapter 5]

The weeks passed by and Sakura slowly fell into a routine with her new team.

She would meet Sasuke and Naruto at their training grounds at six every morning, and they'd train for a few hours until Kakashi arrived. Then he'd give them the mission for the day and afterwards they'd be pushed through his grueling endurance training.

She could feel the muscles beneath her skin now, and to be honest it wasn't as bad as she'd feared. Her body hadn't bulked up like she'd expected it to, instead remaining lithe and slim. She actually liked it. She was faster now, and stronger.

On the rare occasions that they finished the mission early though, Kakashi would teach them something new. Mostly it was Kata and chakra exercises to expand and control their chakra, although sometimes there were a few jutsu mixed in. Notably, he'd taught her a genjutsu called Hell's viewing technique. Supposedly it caused the victim to see their deepest fear. She wasn't sure how well it worked though, since when she'd tried it on him the jounin hadn't even reacted - Naruto, though, had screamed like a baby.

He wasn't a bad teacher, all in all. Nothing like Iruka-sensei, but then again, she had the feeling that Iruka was a bit less… emotionally stunted. From the few things he'd told them about himself and whatever she'd managed to glean from history books, Sakura had put together that he'd graduated the academy at an exceptionally young age - he'd graduated at five years old, before the age that she'd _started_ learning - only to be sent to the battlefield right away. He hadn't had a childhood, she knew, and she felt a bit of pity for her sensei.

This pity had disappeared with his next series of torture that he liked to call 'endurance training'.

Kakashi cared about them in his own odd way, and that was enough. While she definitely cursed him to the heavens every day, during calmer moments she realized that she actually liked that he didn't treat her like a girl, that he didn't exempt her from any training based on her sex.

Even at the academy, the girls had had to attend 'Kunoichi Training', where they learned flower placement and how to properly host a tea ceremony, while the boys did extra training. Those classes had been torturous. Ino was naturally graceful, beautiful, exceptional at all the feminine skills they were taught, and their sensei heaped compliments on the blond girl. Sakura, though, was not. She wasn't clumsy, of course. No shinobi were - except maybe Naruto. But she just wasn't extraordinary, and the other girls in the class had seized the advantage, spotting her flaws like vultures.

Looking back on it, she found herself wishing that she could've stayed with the boys. Even being all sweaty and gross - which she was everyday now - would've been better than the many tears she'd shed afterwards.

All in all while sometimes, despite her pink hair, she doubted whether Kakashi even knew she was a girl, it felt _good_ to be able to do stuff that she couldn't before.

Sasuke had warmed up to her too. Slowly, the Uchiha had seemed to realize that she was genuine in her promise that she wouldn't fangirl over him anymore, and while he didn't talk much, they'd had a conversation a few times, something that made Sakura extremely happy. He'd even helped both her and Naruto with fixing their taijutsu forms in the morning, rolling his eyes and saying that 'he couldn't have his teammates embarrass him'.

And Naruto…

Everyday, Sakura regretted how cruel she had been to him in the academy. He was honestly a refreshing burst of optimism, and while she found herself wanting to hit him more often than not - and she did quite a few times - he always managed to eventually make her smile.

She'd been to his apartment once, after she'd managed to make him reluctantly invite her, and she was appalled at his living conditions. He lived in one of the shadiest parts of the village, and the entire room was a mess. Ramen cups were littered everywhere and there was a carton of expired milk standing right in the open. He didn't even own a fridge.

She'd asked her mother if he could move in with them, only to be instantly shut down. She'd wanted to throw a tantrum, but she hadn't. It was almost ironic. Her relationship with her mother was so strained she couldn't even get angry because the woman felt more like a complete stranger than a blood-relative.

When she'd told Naruto though, he'd actually grinned. She'd been so confused, had he not wanted to move in with her? But then he'd told her he was happy because of the fact that she would do that for him, and her heart had melted.

Although the next day he'd received several thumps on the head again for trying to convince the Hokage to give them a C-rank. Angrily, in the middle of the Hokage's office, she'd lectured him about why exactly D-ranks were so important, and why the village couldn't send unqualified genin out on a C-rank.

Naruto had shut up after that, although not for long. He'd gone back to begging the Hokage for a harder mission only a week later, although with little success.

Until now.

Which brought them to where they were.

"Naruto," the third Hokage said, puffing out a cloud of smoke with his pipe. "How would you like to go on a C-rank mission with your team? I think I have just the one."

He said this with a smile on his face as if he hadn't been completely ignoring Naruto's requests for weeks, only to suddenly offer exactly what the boy wanted.

Sakura blanched in surprise. Was he serious?

Naruto was staring too, slack-jawed. "Are you serious, old man?" He asked in wonder.

The Hokage nodded. "I am serious."

Sakura sighed. Personally, she didn't know if she was ready for a C-rank. She'd never fought anyone outside of the academy spars and their morning practices. But even Sasuke was smirking slightly, and she couldn't find it in herself to speak up.

The blond boy practically screeched, throwing his arms around her and Sasuke in joy. "Guys! We're going on a C-rank! We're finally going to do something cool! And I'll rescue a princess or something and everyone will praise me and-"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Idiot. We're not going to be rescuing any princesses. C-ranks are only one step up from D-ranks," Sasuke said gruffly, but she could hear that he was just as excited as Naruto.

The Hokage smiled fondly. "Naruto, before you get ahead of yourself, would you like me to tell you the mission details?"

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh, right! I forgot about that, ehehe."

Of course he'd forgotten about the actual mission in his elation about getting a C-rank.

"Quite alright. Well, then. The mission is quite simple, although a bit different from average C-ranks in that it is quite far away. However, there is expected to be no combat at all. Hence, why it was ranked a C-rank mission."

Naruto groaned and even Sasuke seemed disappointed at the Hokage's words. Sakura, though, was relieved. This was perfect! She'd be able to get out of the village, away from her mother - she really needed to find her own place to live now that she finally could - and better still she didn't have to worry about fighting.

"Your mission," and here he paused for what she assumed was dramatic effect, "is to travel to the village formerly known as Uzushiogakure, located in the Land of Whirlpools."

Sakura blinked. She'd heard of Uzushiogakure, of course - no academy student hadn't. The village had been Konoha's greatest ally and friend almost since the founding, only to be destroyed by Kirigakure in the last great war. It was to remember the village that all Konoha nin, chunin and above, wore a swirl - the village symbol of Uzushio - on their uniform. But the facts were that C-ranks were almost always carried out within the Land of Fire, since crossing the border to another land always presented some level of risk.

The patrol squads could decide to kill before asking questions, not bothering to see if you had the proper papers. Or even if you showed them, one might have a particular grudge against Konoha, having lost family or friends in the war, and decide to kill you anyway.

These further away C-ranks were always given to chunin, or at least more experienced genin. While she supposed the Land of Whirlpools was probably pretty safe, the shinobi village having been wiped out, she was surprised that they had been given the mission.

"On the coasts of the island is a special plant, which only grows there. Inside the mission scroll are more details on how to identify it. You are to collect samples of this plant and bring them back to Konoha."

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed, regaining his former excitement after having been told there wouldn't be any combat. "Is it some kind of magic plant or something, old man? What does it do? It probably gives you superpowers, right? Right? Right?"

He was practically bouncing up and down on his feet, leaning right into the Hokage's personal space. Sakura sighed, still not knowing what the man had seen in her team that had caused him to give them the mission.

The Hokage just smiled kindly. "Unfortunately, it does not grant any special superpowers. But it is quite beautiful, especially at night. It is a species of plant that is bioluminescent. Interestingly, it was due to these properties that ships approaching Uzushio were able to safely find harbour at night."

Naruto didn't seem to find it as interesting, although she did.

"Aww, that sounds boring," he complained.

Finally having enough, Sakura took a step forward and solidly bonked his head.

"That's enough, Naruto," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just be grateful that Hokage-sama even gave us a C-rank."

The blond boy sighed, but stepped back, a respectable distance from the Hokage, and nodded. "Thanks, old man. We won't let you down."

The Hokage smiled at them kindly. "I'm sure you won't. I have full confidence in your team, which is why I assigned you this mission."

He glanced over at Kakashi, who stood behind them. "Now, if you three could please wait outside while I have a few more words with your sensei, that would be great."

All three genin bowed to him - although Sakura had to hit Naruto again when he stayed standing up - and made their way to the door.

"Hey! I should go rub this in Kiba's face right after this!" Naruto said happily.

From behind them, the Hokage cleared his throat, and the three genin turned back around in surprise. "Actually, I would prefer if you informed few people of this mission. Think of it like a top secret mission"

He smiled kindly at them, but Sakura's suspicions rose. What was so important about this mission that no one could know? If it was as he'd said, all they were doing was travelling to a deserted island and collecting a few plants.

Nevertheless, she left the room with Naruto and Sasuke, and Kakashi closed the door behind them with a click. Curious, she couldn't help but put an ear to the wood to see if she could hear anything, but it was useless. Whoever had soundproofed the Hokage's office had done their job well. Sighing, she settled herself down next to the boys to wait.

* * *

*the girl who went gravedigging and learned to talk to trees*

* * *

Kakashi studied the older man sitting in the Hokage's chair in front of him. Sarutobi's face was weary, lined with wrinkles, truly showing his age. Despite this, his eyes still gleamed with intelligence and clarity.

The silver-haired jounin carefully raised an eyebrow.

"So," he said casually. "Are you going to tell me what the real mission is?"

The Hokage sighed. "Kakashi, nothing I'm going to tell you can leave the room. Do you understand?"

Kakashi nodded curtly, sobering up. "Understood, Hokage-sama."

"I chose you because you are one of the few shinobi I know will get the job done and who I also trust implicitly."

The words didn't warm his heart, although they did do something. He'd known Sarutobi since birth, practically. The third Hokage had known his father, and later, after becoming Minato's student, they had interacted even more frequently.

He bowed his head. "What is my mission?"

"We have a mole," the Hokage said, his dark eyes boring into him. Kakashi kept his surprise under wraps, instead nodding. "Absolutely no one knows that we know except you, me, and one other agent who has already been ordered to keep silent."

"All we know is that the mole works in mission control. Perhaps due to this, they somehow gained access to and stole classified files only accessible by myself and the council. How this occurred will be looked into at a later date."

"What was in the files, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, filled with a dark curiosity.

"Information on all of Konoha's currently active deep undercover agents," the Hokage responded after a moment, dropping his head in his hands and groaning softly in a moment of weakness. "If the information gets out all their lives will be in danger, not to mention that we would be facing the threat of conflict if the villages take it badly."

Kakashi understood. Deep undercover spies lived their entire lives in another village, their sole purpose to completely blend in and climb the ranks, providing continuous information on the movements of that village. While spying wasn't exactly uncommon between the villages - hell, they had a mole at that moment in Konoha - it was expected that the spy could not be connected back to any particular village. Every spy went through rigourous torture resistance training, and they had seals placed on their minds that would self-destruct the host if any tampering or interference was noticed. If this information came out, and Konoha was clearly behind it, it would be catastrophic.

"Does the mole still possess the files?"

The Hokage shook his head. "No, we have it on good source that the files were handed off to an accomplice, a civilian man running an inn at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Whirlpools during a mission. Another nin - I suspect Kiri to be behind this, the location is just too convenient for them - will be stopping by the inn in two weeks to pick up the package."

"You want me to intercept the accomplice before then," Kakashi stated, understanding.

"Yes," the Hokage said. "You must reach the inn before then and retrieve the package. Kill the man and use any means necessary to find the name of the mole."

The jounin frowned. "Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but is that necessary? It would not be difficult to find the mole now that we know which division they are in."

"Unfortunately not, Kakashi. I can't do any digging on my end for fear of the mole realizing that they have been discovered and informing their accomplice to fkee or hand off the files to someone else. While any letters between them could easily be intercepted, I cannot risk the possibility that they might have a more secure, instantaneous method of communicating, such as summons."

"Which is why you sent my genin team, I assume?"

Sarutobi gave him a half smile that held no emotion behind it. "Correct. The mole chose wisely. I cannot send a higher-ranked team for fear of the mole growing suspicious. There was a C-rank requested in the Land of Whirlpools that I was originally going to turn down, not seeing the value, but I decided to take the opportunity."

Kakashi nodded, his face blank.

"Your mission will not be recorded until after completion, as I'm sure you'll understand" the Hokage continued. "Arrange to stay temporarily at the inn run by the mole's accomplice. Find an excuse to get your genin out of the picture, send them on an errand or something similar, and complete your mission."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

He gazed over at Kakashi seriously. "You are not to look at the contents of the package under any circumstances, understood? This information is only for myself and the council. If you find out that anyone other than the accomplice has seen the files, for instance a nosy wife or child, kill them as well."

"Understood."

He'd been called a lazy old man more than once, among other names such as 'pervert', 'bastard', and 'good for nothing'. But Kakashi was a shinobi, through and through, and he performed his duties seriously.

The Hokage nodded, already looking away from the man before him and back down to his never ending mountain of paperwork.

"The location and name of the inn can be found in the mission scroll I gave your team. Do not fail me, Kakashi."

Kakashi saluted him, already falling back into his usual persona, slouching and looking for all the world like a lazy man and not the highly trained killer he was.

"You can count on me, Hokage-sama," he said easily, before turning away towards the door.

"I know I can, Kakashi," was the last thing he heard the Hokage mutter as he left the room. "I know I can."

* * *

*the girl who went gravedigging and learned to talk to trees*

* * *

Sakura watched eagerly as Kakashi walked out of the Hokage's office. He didn't seem any different. His silver hair still spiked to the side oddly and his one visible eye regarded her and the two boys lazily.

"What did the Hokage talk to you about?" She asked, a bit too eagerly.

"Mah, nothing much," Kakashi drawled. "Just catching up on old times."

She frowned inwardly. It could be true. She knew that Kakashi had trained under the fourth Hokage, who had in turn been a disciple of Jiraiya, one of the three sannin, who had been a student of the third Hokage. It wasn't unreasonable for them to have a history together. Still, she doubted it.

She'd been suspicious before, and Kakashi's refusal to tell them only heightened this suspicion. Of course, it was also possible that the jounin was simply being his usual, irritating self and lying to them because he found it funny, but something told her otherwise.

"That's boring!" Naruto said loudly, practically in Kakashi's face. "I want to know when our mission starts!"

The man sighed. "Meet me at the East gate in an hour. That should give you enough time to pack and say goodbye to whomever you need to."

"Don't forget that the Hokage requested the details of this mission to be kept under wraps," he added as an afterthought, eyeing Naruto.

Sakura nodded, already mentally planning out what she would need to bring. As for goodbyes, well she supposed she should probably inform her mother how long she'd be gone, not that she thought the other woman would care.

Next, for some reason, she thought of Ino. She wasn't exactly on the friendliest terms with the blond kunoichi, but Kakashi _had_ told them to say goodbye to whomever they needed to.

Her mind wandered, imagining if she never came back. She would have regretted not saying goodbye to Ino before she died, she supposed. But the idea of facing her ex-best friend scared her more than she was willing to admit. Besides, she wasn't the same little girl anymore, forced to hide in Ino's shadow. She had Naruto and Sasuke now, she thought with a bit of venom.

Wincing, she pushed the thoughts of death from her mind.

It was just a C-rank, it would be fine.


	7. chapter 6

**A/N: Welcome to... a filler chapter! Indeed, the plot takes a quick coffee break in this chapter, but I promise some interesting twists will happen in the next :) I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter, but I apologize if you think some parts are a bit dry.**

**Again, the same thing as the author's note in the last chapter, but I also apologize if Kakashi is a bit OOC. I liked him later on in the anime/manga, but at the beginning I thought he was a really crappy teacher (although kinda funny). **

**Oh, right! One big thing I should probably mention. I took the liberty of coming up with a bit of a backstory for Sakura, as well as a reason for why she entered the academy in the first place (I think it was mentioned in canon that she originally had a reason for wanting to become a ninja, but that she forgot it after a few years as she started caring more about popularity and Sasuke. Or maybe that was in some fanfic I read and I'm confusing the two lol). I suppose my backstory might have a few plotholes (hehe), but hey it's fanfiction, I can twist things a bit. Also (you need to read the chapter to understand but whatever) maybe with the Uchiha clan massacred (they were the police force technically), there would've been more bandits around? Idk mate, I'm just spouting BS now to try and justify me not doing my research properly.**

**Anyhoo, I hope you like this chapter and thanks so much for reading!**

* * *

[chapter 6]

Sakura met her team at the East gate of Konoha exactly an hour after they had split up. Not exactly to her surprise, Kakashi had yet to arrive, although Naruto and Sasuke were already there, arguing angrily about who knew what.

"Hey," she greeted tiredly, already settling down to wait for their tardy sensei. To think that he was so lazy that he couldn't even bother to show up on time for a real _mission_. She shook her head.

"Oh! Hey, Sakura!" Naruto said enthusiastically, turning to her. "Can you help me and the bastard with deciding something?"

Cautious, she looked at him. Did she really want to be brought into whatever petty argument they were having today?

"Sure," she said with a sigh. It wasn't exactly like she could just ignore him, although her mind told her that she should've done exactly that.

"Great," Naruto grinned, "You think that I'd be a cuter girl than the bastard, right?"

So that was what they had been arguing about, she thought with amusement.

"Um…"

What did she say? She didn't necessarily wanted to side with either boy, although the way Naruto had phrased the question was quite rigged. To be completely honest, she'd always thought that if Sasuke had been born the opposite gender, he would've been a beautiful, if slightly moody, heartbreaker. But Naruto was cute too, in his own way. She could easily imagine a bright and perky blond girl with pigtails and whiskers on her cheeks standing in his place. Mentally wincing at the loud arguments sure to follow, she decided that Naruto would indeed make a _cuter_ girl.

"I agree, I guess," she said. Naruto crowed in victory. "But I think Sasuke would make a _prettier _girl," she quickly added on.

The black-haired boy smirked. "See. Even Sakura knows it's true. I'd be the prettier girl."

What had their team even come to, Sakura thought, mentally facepalming.

"Were you even listening? Sakura agreed with me and said that _I'd _be the cuter girl!"

"Pretty is a better compliment than cute," Sasuke said, frowning. "Cute basically just means endearing in an idiotic way."

Naruto leaped up in outrage. "No way! I'll show you!"

The blond formed a few handseals that she recognized as the henge jutsu, and a thick cloud of smoke formed around him.

Slowly and dramatically, the smoke drifted away to reveal a busty female standing there. Completely naked.

Sakura almost jumped in shock, and she could see the tips of Sasuke's ears turning pink, although the Uchiha tried to look as emotionless as possible.

While it was true that there were still wisps of smoke covering the important parts, Naruto's female form didn't leave much to the imagination.

Pushing down her embarrassment and the fierce blush that had been rising to her cheeks, she stomped over to Naruto.

"You idiot!" she yelled loudly, hitting him hard on the top of his head. "Have some respect for the other gender!"

His henge fell, disappearing in another poof of smoke to reveal Naruto sprawled on the ground, clutching his head

"Ah! Sorry, Sakura!" he cried. "Don't kill me!"

She just sent him a glare, before moving away and sitting back down.

Sasuke was sputtering, not able to find words.

Naruto seemed to instantly forget about his pain, instead hugging his stomach and shaking in laughter.

"Aahahahahaha," he laughed, pointing at Sasuke. "I knew you were secretly a pervert!"

The tips of Sasuke's ears burned even redder.

"You idiot!" he snarled, launching himself at Naruto. The two fell over in a tangle of limbs and flurry of punches. Sakura just resolutely turned away and pulled a book on anatomy out of her bag.

It was actually really interesting and well written, despite its relatively dry topic. There was so much to learn. Slitting someone's neck or stabbing them in the heart weren't the only ways to kill someone, nor were they fail proof. Some parts were so disgusting they made her want to throw up her breakfast, but she kept reading, consumed by a sort of sick fascination that made her unable to put it down.

By the time Kakashi showed up, two hours late as usual, she'd finished the book twice - she prided herself on being a fast reader - and her brain was swirling with the new information.

"Good morning, my cute little genin!" their sensei greeted. He looked up, as if rethinking his words. "Although I suppose I should say good afternoon."

Naruto immediately jumped away from his brawl with Sasuke. Funnily enough this wasn't actually the same fight they'd been in when she'd started reading. It was actually their fourth - or was it the fifth? She'd lost count - fight.

"You're late!" He accused.

"Ah," Kakashi apologized. "I ran into an old friend on my way here, and he challenged me to a contest of who could get the most ladies to give them their numbers. I couldn't refuse, of course, my title of 'Konoha's most eligible bachelor' was on the line afterall."

By now it had almost become a routine. Kakashi would show up two hours after their set meeting time and then Naruto would point at him and say the same three words. Then Kakashi would make some stupid and unbelievable excuse. Every single time.

Sakura frowned. "Do you even have friends, Kakashi-sensei? And I can't believe that any woman would willingly date _you."_

The jounin pressed a hand to his heart. "You wound me, Sakura," he said, mock tears in his eye. "I'll have you know that I won the competition by quite a lot."

She shrugged disbelievingly. "Sure."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, dusting himself off from his scuffle with Naruto. "Can we go? We're late as it is."

"Right!" Naruto crowed. "We're going out of the village! This is going to be so amazing! We're going to find some princess in need of help and I'll jump in and save her and she'll be so grateful…"

He trailed off, a blush on his cheeks, most likely from imagining the scenario.

"Oh yeah, and then I guess we could get that stupid plant thing the old man wanted," he added on as an afterthought.

Sakura looked over at him. "Naruto, have you ever been out of the village?" She asked curiously.

"Nope! This is going to be my first time! I'm so excited!"

Well that explained his quite unrealistic expectations.

"Have you, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, looking down at her.

"Yeah, I used to go with my father when he would bring stuff to other villages to trade," she said awkwardly, looking away.

"Ah. Sorry."

"Nah, it's cool. We visited a bunch of really fun places. I have a lot of good memories from that time."

It was true. They'd traveled from village to village with only a horse and a large cart dragged behind them. Nights had been spent camping in the forest, sleeping on the moss-covered ground and using rolled-up sweaters as pillows. It hadn't been luxurious, but it had been the best time of her life. There hadn't been so many bandits and roaming missing-nin back then in these parts.

Her father had carried her on his shoulders sometimes, pointing out all the landmarks and telling her about all the places they passed. They'd gone for weeks at a time, although her mother had stayed at home most of the time, unless her father happened to be travelling with another caravan of merchants. Mebuki Haruno had been born the daughter of a relatively wealthy family, and she'd never gotten used to living in the wilderness like Sakura had.

This practice had continued until a few months before she started at the Academy. There had been more and more reports of dangers along the travelling routes, and after a heated argument between her parents which her mother had won, her father had sadly told her that he couldn't bring her along anymore.

With a tinge of regret, Sakura remembered that the original reason she'd even wanted to go to the Academy had been so she could become a 'super strong ninja who would get rid of all the bad people and then my papa will be able to bring me with him on his trips'.

That had been before they'd received a scroll telling them that Kizashi Haruno had been murdered not far from Konoha by enemy nin. She'd never get to travel with him again.

Kakashi gave her an eye crinkle before turning to the two boys.

"Well, Naruto, you'll get your first view of the big world outside the village soon enough," he chirped. "Now if everyone has everything, let's set off."

With a bit of grumbling, the three genin set off. There were two chunin standing watch at the gates, but after Kakashi miraculously produced some papers out of nowhere and Sasuke showed them the mission scroll they had received from the Hokage, they were waved through.

As they walked through the forest - Kakashi had said that no good shinobi took the main road unless the had too, although Sakura thought bitterly as her pink hair got tangled in various branches that good shinobi also tended to travel through the trees and not on the ground - Sasuke read over the mission scroll that they hadn't had the chance to examine in detail yet.

"We're supposed to reach the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Whirlpools within three days," he read off. "There we'll stay temporarily at an inn there to rest before we cross the water to get to the island of Uzushio. There, we have another few days to get all the plants we need and properly store them before we have the same amount of time to get back to Konoha. The mission is expected to take about two weeks in total."

Kakashi shrugged. "Hope you kids packed enough."

Sakura suspiciously glanced at Kakashi's non-existent backpack while she rolled her shoulders to relieve the soreness caused by her own, heavy pack. Sasuke didn't have a pack either while Naruto did, although he didn't seem to be struggling as much as her despite his looking larger.

With a growl, she glared at their sensei. He and Sasuke had probably put all their stuff in storage seals, something most shinobi did for long missions. They were expensive, and with the meager amount of pay they had earned from their various D-rank missions, she hadn't had enough to buy one. Kakashi probably had copious amounts of money from the high-level missions he was sure to have taken before being made a jounin-sensei and Sasuke had access to his entire clan's wealth.

If Kakashi noticed her trying to shoot daggers into his back with her eyes, he didn't show any sign of it.

"Well, since we're going to be gone from the village for a while, it wouldn't do to stop your training." He smiled sadistically. "We'll get some training every morning before setting out."

Sakura groaned, already imagining the countless strength and speed increasing exercises he was sure to push them through.

"Won't that leave us too exhausted to defend against attacks though?" she tried.

Kakashi just smiled. "No combat mission, remember? Besides, you'll face situations where you have to fight even when you can barely move from exhaustion in the future. It's good preparation."

She gave up, resigning herself to muscles that felt like jello for the rest of the trip.

They stopped after a few hours for water and a ration bar before continuing until the sun had set fully behind the trees, leaving their path shrouded in darkness.

After the third time that Sakura tripped over a tree root and was sent sprawling, Kakashi finally called for a halt.

"Let's stop for the night," he ordered. "We'll continue in the morning after training."

Sakura protested furiously. Sure, she was tired but she _refused _to hold her team back. She wanted to be strong enough to stand by their side. Besides, a team was only as strong as its weakest link, and she refused to be that link.

"I can keep going," she stated, fire burning in her eyes, and she stood up straight.

Kakashi just looked at her dismissively.

"We've got a long day tomorrow," he said. "Treat this as an order from your team commander."

She looked at the ground, feeling angry, but she complied. Together with the two boys they set up the bedrolls and started a fire while Kakashi hunted for food.

The team huddled around the fire for warmth, eating the rabbit meat that their sensei had gotten for them. It was delicious and juicy, the kill fresh and perfectly cooked by the fire, but Sakura just ate it silently, still unhappy about how Kakashi had made them all stop because of her. She hated it. Tomorrow, she wouldn't let any sign of weakness show, she told herself resolutely, no matter how tired she was.

"I'll take first watch," Kakashi told them without room for argument. "Naruto will go next, then Sasuke and finally Sakura."

She looked down angrily again. She knew he was giving her the daybreak watch because he knew she was the most exhausted and wanted to give her the longest, uninterrupted sleep. While it was true she appreciated it, it still grated on her nerves. Kakashi had never really treated her differently than the boys before this, making her do the same exercises in training. She'd prove herself tomorrow.

With a nod, the three genin silently got ready for sleep and climbed into their bedrolls.

Sakura changed behind a tree a little way from the clearing they had decided to spend the night in. She pulled on a pair of long pants and shirt that she'd decided to wear tomorrow, strapping her kunai pouches and the rest of her gear back on.

Shinobi didn't have sleepwear on missions, where an enemy could attack at any moment. This was one of the first lessons they'd learned at the academy. Instead, to keep clean, you changed into clean clothes for the next day before bed and in the morning you were ready to go.

She made her way back into the clearing and climbed into her bedroll, relishing in the warmth it brought. Nights in fire country weren't cold by any means, but it could still get chilly.

Sleep came way too easily. Kakashi had been right about how tired she was. That night, she dreamt she was a little girl again, travelling with her father and sleeping in forests just like she was now.

It wasn't a nightmare in the least, but when Sasuke woke her for her watch she had tears on her face.

Sasuke gave her an odd look she couldn't read but didn't question her.

"Thanks," she said simply, crawling out of her bedroll and shivering in the chilly night air. The Uchiha nodded and made his way to his own sleeping area, lying down.

Sitting next to the fire for warmth, she watched him for a while, seeing when his controlled breathing finally grew slower, showing that he had finally fallen asleep.

They'd learned how to stay awake and alert for the entire duration of a night watch in the Academy, so it wasn't too hard for Sakura.

The forest was quiet though, only the sounds of the usual nighttime wildlife surrounding her. An immeasurable amount of time passed silently, and she watched as the sun slowly rose from behind the trees. She felt the same peace that she'd felt months ago, sitting on the bridge with Naruto, and embraced it.

She wasn't sure where it came from, but the same thing happened every day now. The peaceful sensation would fill her as the sun rose and slowly disappear throughout the day. Each time, it was hard to describe, but it almost felt as if the calm was actually coming from the nature around her, flowing through the trees to her. She'd learned not to question it by now.

At what she guessed to be around six in the morning, she gently shook awake her teammates and sensei. They woke up with quite different reactions.

Kakashi opened his one visible eye before her hand even touched his shoulder and he was standing next to her before she'd even processed that he'd zipped open his bedroll.

Sasuke woke up silently, a slight quickening in his breath the only sign that he'd entered consciousness. He acknowledged her with a slight bow of his head, silently getting out of his bedroll, although not as fast as Kakashi.

Naruto though, went completely insane when she lightly shook his shoulder and whispered that it was time to wake up.

"Ahhhh!" He yelled loudly, flailing wildly around inside his bedroll. He - still stuck inside of it - rolled around the clearing, almost falling into the still smoldering fire, although Sakura's quick reaction time was enough to save him before that happened.

"Naruto, calm down!" She exclaimed, pinning him down to the forest floor so he would stop squirming around.

The blond blinked sleepily. "Ah, Sakura?"

She sighed. "Yes, Naruto. It's me. Now get out of your bedroll and help with breakfast."

He grinned sheepishly. "Right."

Sometimes she wondered how he'd even graduated from the academy. He had no sense of subtlety and he was as graceless as a toad. Of course, she thought, rethinking, he did have that special sort of clone that the Hokage had supposedly taught him. Naruto had smirked widely when he'd told them, saying that 'his old man' had said that only he could make them because he was the greatest.

Team seven ate a quiet breakfast, made up of more ration bars and a few of Naruto's instant ramen cups. As it turned out, that was why his pack had been that large. He hadn't even brought much in terms of clothing, the instant ramen taking up most of the room.

"Alright," Kakashi said, unnaturally cheerful, as they finished off their meals. "Once you're done, meet me in the forest for training."

Sakura instantly slowed down the speed at which she was eating, nibbling at her ration bar, but there was no stopping the inevitable.

The next three hours were torturous. Kakashi didn't let up on them in the least, and he seemed to take great pleasure in hurling various sharp objects at them as they frantically dodged attempted to get used to the mostly unfamiliar setting.

But soon enough they were on their way again. Sakura had barely been able to pick herself off the ground where she'd collapsed as soon as Kakashi announced them finished for the day. It was only by remembering her resolution the night before that she summoned up the will to get to her feet, brushing the dirt off of her and struggling to tug her clothing and gear into some semblance of neatness.

If they saw a lake today she was jumping in. There was no way she could spend the next two weeks sweaty and covered in filth.

Unfortunately, they didn't pass a lake in the end and that night Sakura had to climb into her bedroll in an irritated and moody state. It was only made slightly better that Kakashi hadn't made them stop that day because of her.

The jounin was unbelievably clean the next morning, to her astonishment. She could've sworn that he'd been covered in grime as well when the three genin had gone to bed the night before. He hadn't sweated as much as them during training, but a day-long march through a forest without a clear path would make anyone dirty.

"How." She demanded with a glare.

Kakashi gave her that same, annoying eye crinkle. Thankfully, he replied, since she had been about to attack him if he'd pulled the same 'mysterious and vague' act that he normally did. "A little trick I picked up a few years ago using a water jutsu,"

She could only gape, stunned. How had she not thought of that. To civilians, the jutsu that ninja used were practically magic. Of course there'd be one that could be used to bathe oneself in the absence of a water source.

"Teach me," she begged him, not ashamed to get down on her hands and knees. "Please, Kakashi-sensei."

The jounin just shrugged. "I'll think about it if you manage to land a hit on me tomorrow morning."

She didn't.

But Kakashi seemed amused by her desperation and multiple foolish attempts, so he taught her it anyways out of what she assumed was pity.

It wasn't that hard. Using a pretty standard water jutsu and a little chakra you could literally recreate the naturally-occurring process of condensation. Form a little rain cloud above your head and boom, you had your own personal shower!

That night Sakura slept comfortably, her skin tinged pink from being scrubbed so hard and her hair still damp.

The next morning at breakfast, Naruto and Sasuke looked on with glares of jealousy and feeling petty, she decided not to let them know how she'd done it. They would be staying at the inn that night anyways, where she was sure there would be showers.

Of course her good mood was ruined as soon as they started their morning training, where Kakashi, being the sadist that he was, chose the muddiest and most bug infested part of the forest to do their exercises.

But the day went on and around afternoon the dense forest they had been travelling through finally began to thin. The trees here were different too, less tall than the ones near Konoha. They weren't as lush and green as the ones by the village either, most of them looking a little dry and wilted. It must not rain here as much, she realized. Or maybe it was the proximity to the salt water of the sea. Did that mean they were almost in the Land of Whirlpools?

"We're approaching the border," Kakashi told them quietly, confirming her suspicions.

Within another hour they'd reached the inn they had planned to stay out, and to Sakura's delight it was right along the coast. The ocean glittered behind it and soft waves lapped at the banks of the land, which was covered in a fine sand.

"One room, please," Kakashi curtly said to the owner of the inn, a thin, balding old man with a pleasant smile. The man glanced briefly up at their headbands and paled a bit.

"O-of course," he stuttered, digging beneath the counter to pull out a large key on a ring. "F-Follow me, please."

He must not get many shinobi customers here, Sakura decided. The shinobi village of the Land of Whirlpools, Uzushio, had been destroyed by Kiri years ago, afterall, and not many nin passed through here anymore.

The inn keeper brought them to a large room that thankfully had large windows and a stunning view of the ocean outside. In the distance, Sakura could even see the faint outline of the island itself, although most of it was shrouded in a thin mist that draped over the sea.

It was a beautiful place, and despite their exhaustion from a day of travelling, the three genin spent the rest of the afternoon diving through the water like dolphins and playfully splashing each other.

It had been ages since she'd had this much fun.


	8. chapter 7

**A/N: AHAHAHHAHA no spoilers but... interesting stuff is finally going to happen in this chapter! (and because of that reason I'm going to have the rest of my notes below)**

* * *

[chapter 7]

The next day, curiously enough, Kakashi let them sleep in. They'd switched the order of their shifts, with Sakura now going first and Kakashi last, so she'd fully expected their sensei to wake them and drag them off to do their daily training at an ungodly hour.

When she woke up, though, the sun was already high in the sky, and she could hear the waves breaking against the shore outside. There were a few seagulls screeching too, and Sakura spent a few minutes just relaxing and enjoying the surroundings.

Then, knowing there was no going back to sleep, she got out of her bedroll - the room Kakashi had booked had only one bed, which the jounin had immediately claimed, saying that his old age was giving him back problems.

She pulled on her usual long pants and a skin tight shirt. She'd gotten used to not wearing dresses by now, and it was so much easier. No longer did she have to worry about silly things such as making sure it didn't have any wrinkles in it, and on multiple occasions that she'd fallen into a trap Kakashi had set up and been yanked upwards to hang upside down by her ankles, she'd been quite grateful that she hadn't accidentally flashed anyone her underwear.

Looking around, she realized that all the other bedrolls were empty, her obviously having been the last one to awaken. She made her way down to the common area of the inn, finding Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke already there, chatting quietly over breakfast.

"Good morning," she greeted, sitting down next to Naruto.

Kakashi crinkled his eye. "Ah, our fourth team member is finally here."

Raising a hand, he called out to the nervous looking innkeeper who was drying and putting away the dishes in the attached small kitchen.

"Another plate of breakfast for the young lady," he ordered casually.

The innkeeper nodded before scurrying away and within minutes a steaming plate of food was sitting in front of her. There were eggs and tomatoes and even a few pieces of fish on top of a bed of rice, and it looked delicious

Sakura practically inhaled it. It had been so long since she'd had proper food, she moaned internally, even though she knew it had only been a few days. Cooked rabbit and squirrel was nice, and ration bars weren't disgusting, but they didn't come close to comparing with a homemade meal like this.

Kakashi and the boys watched her in amusement, having already finished their own breakfast. Finally, when she slowed down enough that she could breathe again, Kakashi spoke up.

"We'll be doing something different for training today," he announced cheerfully.

Sakura glanced up from her food in surprise. What other torture regime had he concocted for them today?

"Huh, why?" Naruto asked cluelessly.

Kakashi sighed. "As you may have noticed," he said pointedly. "Our intended destination is separated from us by a large body of water."

"Can't we just take a boat?"

"There are no sailors or fishermen in this area with who we could get a ride."

"Oh," Naruto frowned. "So are we doing more endurance training so we can swim across or something?"

Kakashi smiled sadistically, and Sakura knew that wasn't a good sign. "Something like that," he said vaguely.

By now she'd finished her breakfast - she ate _fast_ when she was hungry - so Kakashi stood up from his seat at the table. "Come with me, my cute little genin. I will show you something that will blow your minds."

Reluctantly, the trio followed him from the inn and back to the beach they had been swimming at the day before.

They stopped at the edge of the sand, feeling the water lap at their toes, but Kakashi kept walking.

"Uh, sensei, where are you going?" Naruto asked.

The jounin just turned his head back, giving them his signature eye-crinkle. He kept walking, and it took Sakura a full five more steps before she realized.

"He's walking _on _the water," she cried, gasping.

Naruto and Sasuke seemed to come to the same realization, and all three watched their sensei calmly walk on the surface of the sea as if nothing was wrong.

"I know you're all in shock but I'd suggest closing your mouths before something flies in."

Hurriedly, the three clenched their jaws shut, all of them having been staring at him in open-mouthed wonder.

Kakashi took his time, peacefully strolling back towards them, and as he reached the beach again, Naruto threw himself at him, clinging to an arm.

"Teach us, Kakashi-sensei!" He cried. "I want to walk on water too!"

The man smirked. Sakura knew something bad was coming.

"I'll teach you guys," he told them, and Naruto let go of his arm to jump up and down in glee.

"But it's not going to be easy," he warned. "And before you learn how to walk on water you'll have to learn how to walk up trees."

To be honest, this interested Sakura even more than walking on water. While both seemed useful, walking up trees sounded like what all the shinobi did to travel through the treetops, or to jump from roof to roof in the village itself. She'd always wanted to learn how to do that.

"No problem! I'll get it right away," Naruto promised with an exuberant thumbs up to their teacher.

The silver-haired man just smiled, as if he knew something they didn't, and led them away from the beach and to the outskirts of the forest a few kilometre away.

They watched as he showed them how to theoretically do it - you just gathered the right amount of chakra at the bottom of your feet and you'd stick to the bark - and then demonstrated, walking horizontally up the trunk to the very top and then back down again.

"Me first!" Naruto demanded. Impatiently, he rushed at the tree. Sakura watched as he took four or five steps up and then was thrown back, the bark underneath his sandals exploding in splinters.

She tried not to, she really did, but she burst out laughing. Naruto glared petulantly up at the tree from where he lay sprawled on the ground.

Kakashi looked very amused.

"I think I'll leave you three to it," he said. "Stay here until you can walk using chakra all the way to the top of the tree."

He threw three kunai at the ground in front of their feet, and Sakura almost jumped in surprise.

"Use these to mark how far up you get."

Then the jounin sent them a dark glare, and she could literally see a cold aura seeping out of him.

"Oh, and… I'll know if you come back before you've completed the exercise," he threatened, and Sakura shivered.

All three genin hastily agreed, and suddenly the aura was gone.

"Well, I'll be off then! I need to catch up on some reading," Kakashi said brightly, giving them a last eye-crinkle.

"He's probably off reading his porn again," Naruto muttered mutinously as they saw their sensei's gravity-defying hair finally disappear from view.

Sakura laughed but didn't respond, instead picking up the kunai Kakashi had thrown at her and walking to the base of a tree a little bit away from the two boys.

Contemplatively, she looked up. Deciding to test it with her hands first, she channelled chakra to her palm. It was easier to channel chakra to your hands than to your feet, meaning she'd have more control.

Cautiously, she pressed her hand to the bark of the tree and then tried to remove it. There was a little resistance, but not much, as if she was dragging her hand through syrup. She channeled more chakra to her palm, seeing it begin to glow lightly. It didn't concern her much, since she knew that unlike jutsu, chakra she simply moved around her body wouldn't be lost to her.

The reason ninja could perform moves much more physically complicated than civilians was because of the ability to reinforce their limbs with chakra. While for some, like Naruto and Sasuke, this resulted in the loss of some chakra, since they couldn't control it enough not to let some of it diffuse into the surroundings, the Academy instructors had always told her that she had near perfect chakra control, meaning she could reinforce her limbs without any chakra loss at all.

Theoretically, if she was in a purely taijutsu against either of the boys on her team, she would be able to outlast them until they passed out from chakra exhaustion. Of course, in a real fight she would've collapsed way before then, but that wasn't the point.

Sticking her hand against the bark of the tree again, this time she found that try as she might, she couldn't move it. Perfect.

Experimenting, she tried moving chakra to the bottom of her feet and placing it against the tree. Slightly surprised, she noted that it hadn't worked, as she'd felt a bit of resistance as she moved her foot away, but it hadn't stayed. She frowned. She'd used the exact same amount of chakra as with her hand, so what had gone wrong?

Looking down at her boots, she realized she probably hadn't used enough chakra. While her palms were bare, she wore combat boots on her feet, meaning her chakra would have to pass through that too.

Sending a bit more chakra down, she tried again, almost crying out in excitement when it worked.

Then came the next step. With one foot stuck to the tree and the other still on the ground, she carefully jumped up and put both feet against the trunk. She shrieked as she felt herself falling a bit and instinctively grabbed the tree with her arms as well.

She now found herself in a rather odd position. With a start, she realized her feet were actually still stuck to the tree. The falling sensation she'd felt had only been because of gravity pulling her upper body down.

Slowly, she released her arms from around the tree and stood up, tightening her core to keep from falling backwards.

It was hard, but the training with Kakashi must have been good for something, because she felt tight muscle where before there had been none.

Cautiously at first, she took small steps up the tree. The in-between steps were the hardest, where only one leg was attached to the tree, the only thing keeping her entire body from falling.

Then, slowly starting to get the hang of it, she threw caution to the wind. It was easier if you ran or jumped, she realized.

WIthin minutes, she'd reached the top of the tall tree she'd chosen, and with a smile on her face she marked the top branch with the kunai Kakashi had given her.

From up here, she could see Sasuke and Naruto struggling below, and the sight made her puff up in pride.

"Up here, losers!" she called playfully, and both boys looked up.

Sasuke just looked displeased and Naruto swung his fist playfully at her.

"Just you wait, Sakura!" he yelled up at her. "I'll get there before the bastard."

She stuck her tongue out. "Well, you have fun trying! I'm going back to the inn to relax." she called down. Maybe she'd go swimming again, she thought. She could grab her swimsuit from her room and then head out. It'd be nice to float among the waves in peace.

Going down was easier, now that she'd gotten the hang of it, and soon she was standing at the base of the tree again. She patted it fondly on the bark.

"Thanks, ," she said politely, even though she knew she must be going crazy to talk to a tree. Still… She'd gotten it on her very first try. That must've counted for something.

Then, with a last wave to Naruto and Sasuke who had only made it a couple metres up the tree, she skipped back to the inn they were staying at, whistling all the way.

As she got closer, a devious thought came to her. Maybe she'd surprise Kakashi-sensei! He probably wouldn't be expecting them back for a while, and this way she could make him see that she wouldn't be the one holding them back.

With this in mind, she recalled their lessons back at the Academy and training on subterfuge. You had to suppress your chakra signature, she remembered. And walk silently. She'd been good at both. The first because of her excellent chakra control and the second because she'd always been light-footed.

So she suppressed her chakra to an almost nonexistent level - except not completely non-existent, because that was a dead giveaway that there was someone sneaking up on you - and crept towards the house.

As she reached the door she paused, a grin on her face.

"Hi, Kakashi-sensei," she yelled, throwing the door open.

Sakura froze.

All the blood drained from her face and her smile disappeared. She took a few shuddering steps backwards and she knew she was shaking.

Why had she thought this would be a good idea?

"O-Oh. I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, almost silently.

Inside the room, her sensei was splattered in blood. He was kneeling on the floor next to the innkeeper who'd been so scared of them. A pool of blood surrounded both of the,.

Her brain, wired to see everything, even the smallest detail, noticed that the innkeeper - she hadn't even learned his name - was missing several fingers and one of his eyes had been gouged out. Several flaps of skin were hanging off and his right arm was twisted at an unnatural degree.

Kakashi had been torturing him.

The sight almost made her throw up her breakfast.

Kakashi turned to her, and his eyes were nothing like they usually were. _Eyes_, because he'd pulled his headband up to reveal another eye, blood red with three tomoe spinning through it.

"Sakura," he growled through gritted teeth. "I thought I told you to only come back once you'd walked to the top of the tree."

"I-I did," she whispered after a moment, and she thought she saw his eyes flash in disbelief.

Then, without even looking down, he slit the innkeepers throat. The blood gushed out in a spurt and Sakura doubled over, heaving the contents of her breakfast onto the floor. It was terrible, her stomach felt like it was giving in on herself, and worse was the smell of vomit that joined the strong stench of blood already permeating the room.

Kakashi just narrowed his eyes, and picked up a package of what looked like papers and files from the ground. In one quick movement, he rolled it up and stuffed in a pocket of his standard-issue pants.

He stood up from where he'd been crouched and suddenly he was behind her, closing the door of the inn so that it was only the two of them in the room.

Sakura scrambled away in fear. Was he going to kill her too? Who was this man.

Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair and pulling his headband back down to cover his sharingan eye. But his hand was covered in blood and it stained his hair red.

"Relax, Sakura," he ordered.

She couldn't stop shaking and watching him with wide, fearful eyes. Her eyes kept roaming to the now dead man lying on the ground.

She almost threw up again.

"Sakura."

Kakashi was standing in front of her now, and she could feel his hands on her shoulders.

"Deep breaths," he said calmly, his one visible eye looking into hers. His sudden touch had brought on a new wave of panic, but as the minutes ticked by she felt her heartbeat slow down and her mind clear slightly.

Taking a few deep, trembling breaths, she looked up at her sensei, doing her best to avoid looking at the dead man lying nearby.

"I-I don't u-understand," she managed to get out.

Slowly, Kakashi guided her by her shoulders to turn her away from the scene before her and to face him instead.

"The Hokage assigned me a solo mission," he stated without any hint of emotion. "I had not expected you back so early."

He was quiet after that.

"I-It wasn't that hard. I got it on m-my first try," she said. She didn't even know what she was talking about anymore, just that she had to say something. "Naruto and S-Sasuke are still trying, I think."

Kakashi just creased his visible eye in what she assumed to be the same smile he always gave her, but this time it filled her with no comfort at all.

"I should've expected you to pick it up quickly. Your teachers all remarked on your excellent chakra control."

It didn't sound like a compliment.

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered again. Her wandering eyes caught sight of the dead innkeeper's body again and she jerked her head back to face Kakashi, fighting down horror.

Ever so slowly, the jounin lifted the headband hiding his other eye. She looked down, refusing to meet his eyes, but his quick hands captured her jaw, forcing her to meet the swirling gaze of his sharingan.

"Sakura," he said again. He'd been saying her name a lot, she remarked distachedly.

Kakashi's sharingan was swirling, and the blood-red of it's colour was so captivating. She couldn't look away, no matter how much she wanted to. All her instincts were screaming at her to flee, but she knew it was impossible. For some reason, the hypnotic circles traced by the tomoe in his eye were calming, hypnotizing.

"You will not speak a word of this to Sasuke or Naruto," he ordered.

Sakura found herself nodding.

"This man," he gestured to the dead innkeeper, "was a traitor to our village."

"O-okay," she mumbled.

"Despite what you saw today, I am still your jounin-sensei," Kakashi said seriously. "You have no reason to fear me."

He let go of her and she stumbled back, falling against the door. She covered her face with her hands refusing to look. She felt like a child again, believing that if she couldn't see something, it didn't exist.

When Kakashi's hand came to rest upon her head, she jerked backwards from the contact, banging her head against the door behind her in a clash that made her eyes tear up.

"It would be best if you waited in your room while I clean up," he said quietly.

With an assured grip, the jounin helped her shuddering form up from the ground and guided her out of the room, avoiding the body and the slick blood covering the ground. Sakura kept her eyes firmly closed the entire time.

Within minutes, she was at the door to the room they had rented out from the innkeeper - the _dead innkeeper_ \- the night before. Kakashi gently peeled her hands away from her eyes and opened the door for her, giving her a firm push inside.

"Try to forget about everything," he ordered, as he closed the door behind him.

Sakura tried, she really did, but she could feel the hum of chakra as Kakashi moved around on the floor below, probably using various jutsu to get rid of all the evidence.

The floor was covered in blood. A quick water jutsu would wash that out. The corpse on the floor. No bloodline, nothing valuable to learn anymore. A snap of fire and soon enough it'd be gone. The room might smell a bit odd for the next day, but well, nothing a gust of elemental wind couldn't clear out.

All the Academy drilled information ran through her head as she tried to visualize what Kakashi was doing.

The taste of bile was still on her tongue. She quickly ran over to the adjoined bathroom and rinsed her mouth with water.

Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her. Pale, smooth, creamy skin. Soft, pink tresses cascading down from behind her headband. Emerald green eyes.

For a moment, another image flashed before her eyes.

Blood, running like tears down her skin. Hair, matted with the viscous fluid. Eyes, gouged out. Hollow, gaping caverns in the places where her eyes should've been. Her hands rose automatically to her face and she stifled a scream. Half her fingers were gone, cut off to leave only bleeding stumps of flesh protruding from her hand.

She blinked and the image was gone.

As if in a trance, she moved away from the mirror and backed out of the washroom. She was in shock, she thought vaguely. She was seeing hallucinations.

She needed to calm down.

They'd gone on a class fieldtrip before, to Torture and Interrogation. It had been meant to scare those not fully committed away from the ninja path, and to remind the others of what happened to those who betrayed the village.

They'd seen men down there, cut up worse than the innkeeper a floor below her. She'd thrown up back then too.

But this had been worse, somehow. Torture and Interrogation had felt like a scene from a movie, but this felt real.

Angrily, she punched one of the walls. Her knuckles ached in protest and cracks ran from where she'd contacted the plaster but a bit of her tension drained away.

Kakashi had a reason for killing the innkeeper, she told herself. The man had been a traitor to her village.

"_The girl is a potential threat if kept alive."_

"_She must be disposed of."_

They'd accused her of being a traitor too.

She wasn't dead.

Sakura immediately pushed the jumbled mess of thoughts out of her head, trying to collect herself.

What did she know?

Kakashi had said that the Hokage had given him a separate mission. Was that why he'd been asked to stay back?

But he hadn't just killed the innkeeper, he'd tortured him. She remembered Kakashi picking up a package of files from the bloody floor - the image was stuck in her mind, she couldn't get it out. The dead man, _his fingers and eye gone_.

He'd said the innkeeper was a traitor to Konoha, but what could he have done? He was a civilian, Sakura was sure of it. No ninja could have such an undeveloped chakra system.

A knock sounded at the door to the room and she jumped, her heart pounding.

Kakashi opened the door soundlessly and stepped inside. He had somehow cleaned himself. His uniform was now as pristine as always and all traces of blood were gone from his hair.

His back was slouched and his hands were stuffed into his pockets, and he looked the exact same as he always had, but Sakura didn't think she would ever be able to unsee the image of him calmly slitting the innkeepers throat without even looking.

He sat down on the bed - the only one in the room - next to her, and she tensed imperceptibly. It didn't pass by Kakashi's notice, and he frowned.

"I can't explain anything to you, Sakura," he said. "Not yet."

She forced herself to relax. "I know," she breathed out.

He only nodded. "It had to happen."

"I know," she said again.

Kakashi sighed, before slowly, ever so slowly, reaching out and draping an arm over her shoulders.

He was just Kakashi, her sensei, she told herself.

She leaned into his comforting gesture, wrapping her arms around his waist to turn it into a makeshift hug.

"What type of ninja am I?" she found herself crying. "I can't even deal with this."

The jounin awkwardly patted her on the back.

"Shh, Sakura. It's ok," he murmured. "You're just a genin, you shouldn't have had to see that."

"B-But I'm going to have to do that at some point, right?" she said. Her face was pressed against his shoulder.

"Not for a while," Kakashi promised.

They didn't speak after that. They just sat there wordlessly on the bed, Sakura's silent sobs the only sound in the small room. Kakashi rubbed comforting circles on her back.

God, she was pathetic wasn't she.

She drew in a few deep, shivering breaths.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

_For crying on your shirt. For coming back when I shouldn't have. For being weak._

Naruto and Sasuke would've been able to handle it. They wouldn't have broken down like she had over the sight of a dead man.

Kakashi gently pried himself free of her embrace.

"I should've been more careful, Sakura," he said. "I'm sorry you had to see it."

She knew how awful she must look, with red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes and muscles still shaking slightly.

Funny, she thought distantly, that her vanity was coming back at a moment like this.

She was a coward, she knew. Dying a quick, painless death would be easier than torture. If she were ever captured, she wondered if she would spill village secrets at the first hint of pain.

Did that mean she wasn't loyal? Was she the traitor that Councilor Shimura had accused her of being.

She didn't want to think about it.

She closed her eyes and looked down. "I know that being a ninja isn't all fun and games and cool techniques, like Naruto seems to think. I'm not stupid."

She thought she saw approval in his gaze, but maybe that was just her mind playing tricks on her.

"Take the rest of the day off. We'll continue with training tomorrow."

Sakura nodded.

* * *

**A/N: Right! So I've been planning this chapter for a while, but I'm a bit worried about how I portrayed the characters. I know that at the beginning of the show Sakura hasn't really had much exposure to the "real" ninja life. When she finally does sort of get some experience in the forest of death, it isn't really like this, so I'm not sure how well I did. I was just sort of going along how I think a teenager would react if they came home to find their teacher torturing/murdering someone, but then again, this is the Naruto world and they're obviously a lot more desensitized towards all that. Still, she does come from a civilian family so maybe it's reasonable? Let me know what you think. Also, not sure how well I wrote out Kakashi's character in regards to the entire situation, but let me know what you think about that too, I guess. **

**Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, and reviews/favs/follows always make me smile, so if you liked my work I would really appreciate it! Thanks so much and have a great rest of your summer break (if you're on one right now). **


	9. chapter 8

**A/N: I'd just like to say that I'm not happy with this chapter at all. I had a general idea for what I wanted to happen (which wasn't much, considering it's just a filler chapter), but I wrote this over the course of a few months and I just don't like the work at all :( **

**So I guess apologies for the both short and badly written chapter, but I just needed to get something out there so that I wouldn't give up on the story. **

**On a happier note, things are finally going to move along next chapter and when they get back to Konoha (spoiler: chunin exam) in regards to Sakura's mokuton, which I know hasn't been talked about a lot yet despite it being the main premise of the story. **

**Anyways, enjoy and have a great day!**

* * *

[chapter 8]

"The innkeeper decided to go on vacation," Kakashi drawled lazily that night at dinner.

Sakura stared down at her plate of food, focusing on the enticing smell of the food rather than the faint stench of blood wafting through the room - she knew it wasn't actually there, Kakashi was too good at his job for that, but she could _smell _it, goddamnit.

Sasuke gave Kakashi a suspicious look. "He went on vacation with guests still at his house?"

The jounin shrugged. "Who am I to judge a man for needing a break. You saw how he was shaking this morning, maybe he just didn't like you kids."

He'd been shaking because he'd been scared of them.

Naruto just seemed to take it all in stride. "I beat Sasuke to the top of the tree," he announced gleefully, just as Sasuke opened his mouth to respond to Kakashi.

The Uchiha glared at him instead.. "Your tree was shorter."

"Was not! You're just jealous, admit it, bastard!"

Sasuke looked like he wanted to burn a hole through Naruto's forehead with his eyes.

"Mah, mah," Kakashi said appeasingly, patting them both on the heads. "I'm very proud of you both. Besides, Sakura got it hours before you two."

She wished she hadn't, to be honest. Maybe just this once, it would've been nicer if she'd been last as usual.

"Anyways, since you guys picked up tree-walking so easily, we'll start on water-walking tomorrow," he continued. "This one's a bit harder so it might take a few days, but we have time."

Naruto waved his hand. "I'll get it in a day, Kakashi-sensei!" he proclaimed through a mouthful of food.

Sakura rolled her eyes. He probably wouldn't, but that never stopped Naruto from trying.

The next few days passed by in a flash. The image of the innkeeper's tortured and murdered corpse seemed to wash out of her mind with every swim in the sea.

Not to anyone's surprise, she'd been the first one to master water-walking. It hadn't been on her first try, like the tree-walking, but that was mostly due to the waves that kept disrupting her balance. Either way, she'd gotten it fast enough for Kakashi to send her a surprised glance.

Naruto and Sasuke both spent the next two full days and another morning practicing before they could confidently walk on the surface of the water - and by that time Sakura could dance circles around them as if she'd grown up doing it.

Kakashi instructed them to take the afternoon off to rest. They'd set off for Uzushio in the morning. That night all three genin slept like logs.

Morning dawned bright and early and soon enough Kakashi was shaking them all awake with a smile.

"Ready to go, my cute little genin?" He asked chirpily.

Sakura groaned, rubbing her eyes to try and clear her drowsy vision. "What time is it even, Kakashi-sensei?"

Normally on a mission, she'd be awake in a flash. But she hadn't slept well the past few nights, plagued by nightmares, and this was the first good night of sleep she'd had. If only Kakashi hadn't decided to wake them up with the dawn.

Her teacher just smiled. "Go make yourselves a quick bite to eat downstairs and then we'll head out. If we leave within the next half hour we should reach Uzushio before midday."

All three mumbled out agreements before half stumbling, half walking down the stairs.

Luckily enough for them, the innkeeper had been in the habit of keeping his inn well stocked. The past few days they'd made use of his large variety of produce and various other food items.

Still drowsy on her feet, Sakura retrieved a box of cereal from one of the cupboards in the kitchen and added some to a bowl before adding milk. She grabbed a spoon and sat down at a table, waiting for the boys to join her.

Soon enough the dishevelled heads of the other two appeared down the stairs and the three sat around a small table in silence, with only the loud sound of Naruto's eating. They finished up their breakfast and washed the plates.

Kakashi met them at the front of the inn.

"Ready?" he asked, leading them to the beach.

He pointed at the faint outline of Uzushio that could be seen in the distance through the misty morning. "Just keep heading in that direction and don't get lost in the mist."

He glanced over at them. "Stick together."

Sakura rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Why? Do you not trust our navigational skills?"

Kakashi's eyes shifted tellingly over to Naruto. "Perhaps."

She laughed and the three headed out onto the lake.

The first half hour was easy, pleasant even. They jogged across the lake at a comfortable speed, not unlike the warm-up laps Kakashi made them run around the village sometimes. But nearing a full hour of water-running, Sakura could begin to feel the strain. Uzushio never seemed to get any closer, always remaining in the distance like a desert mirage.

Sasuke and Naruto seemed full of boundless energy, but out of all of them it was obvious that her stamina was the worst. Not to mention that she didn't have a practically unlimited chakra pool, and while her control was perfect enough to make sure she didn't waste too much chakra while running, she could still feel the constant drain.

By the time they were finally truly approaching the island, Sakura's shoes had started to sink a little bit into the water with every step and her muscles were burning.

As they reached the shore, Sakura flopped down lifelessly on a patch of sand.

"We made it! Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed, sitting down happily next to her. Somehow, he didn't seem even the least bit exhausted, even after what must have been at least a two hour run. It really was unfair.

Kakashi just patted both of them on the head.

"Ah, don't relax yet," he said cheerfully. "We still have quite a ways to hike inland until we reach Uzushio itself."

Sakura groaned and rolled over, wrapping her arms around Naruto to keep him from getting up.

"I'm going to lie here forever," she swore seriously.

Kakashi chuckled. "Get up."

Naruto somehow managed to wriggle out of her hold and spring up to face the jounin with a mock salute, but Sakura stayed lying in the soft sand, relishing in the relief it brought her sore muscles.

"We're going to leave you behind, Sakura," her sensei warned. Almost curiously, he poked her limp body a few times with his foot.

She rolled over to try and avoid him. "Go ahead. My plan is to merge with the sand and become one entity."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "As funny as that would be, we really do need to make it to Uzushio sometime today."

She ignored him.

The jounin sighed. "You brought it upon yourself," he said, leaning down to scoop her up effortlessly and throwing her over a shoulder.

She shrieked at the sudden motion and winced when her nose hit Kakashi's flak jacket.

"Let's go," her sensei called to her two teammates, already moving inland.

"Kakashi-sensei," she complained. "Your shoulder is bony."

The man just kept running, each step causing her body to shift around painfully. "Would you rather I let you down and you ran along?"

"I'd rather you carried me princess-style than like a dead lump of meat," she replied hopefully.

She couldn't see his face but she thought he might be rolling his eyes.

"I think the second one describes you better," he said.

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Yes," he replied unremorsefully.

She pounded on his back with her fists, the only part of him she could reach.

"I'm not fat," she screeched. "It's all muscle, ok?"

He reached up and poked her in the stomach.

"What's this then?" he asked playfully.

Sakura growled. She wasn't fat, she wasn't! Sure, she'd dropped her diet sometime after she'd graduated from the academy, but the harsh training Kakashi put them through meant that she always had to eat heapings of food to make up for all the calories she burned through.

They reached the destroyed village of Uzushio later that afternoon, Kakashi at some point during the journey unceremoniously tossing her down to run on her own.

And somehow through all this, the faint fear she'd felt for him earlier never crossed her mind again. Later, she wondered if that had been his plan all along.

Uzushio, despite its crumbling walls and towers and overgrowth of moss and plantation, was beautiful.

A tall, stone wall surrounded a city filled with elaborate arches and soaring buildings. Even with most of it destroyed, Sakura could tell that all of the houses must have been at least double the height of those in Konoha. She supposed that height on a relatively flat island like this must mean that you could see for miles around.

Even Naruto and Sasuke stopped their constant bickering when the destroyed village came into view.

"Wow," Naruto breathed.

Kakashi just smiled, as if it wasn't anything new. Sakura wondered if he'd been on missions here in the past. Or had Kakashi been alive when Kiri attacked Uzushio? She remembered he'd become a genin at an unusually young age, so was it possible that he'd been part of the group sent once Konoha heard that Uzushio had been razed.

"Let's find somewhere sheltered to set up camp and then we'll have a quick lunch before heading out," he suggested.

The four of them kept trudging forward. Soon, they reached the village itself, climbing over a crumbled section of the wall. Past here the journey was more hazardous. The cobbled streets were uneven, with several ditches and broken pieces of building that could easily trap an ankle.

They travelled in silence, none of them daring to break the unearthly silence in the old village. Since they'd passed the gates, actually, Sakura hadn't seen a single bird. While they'd been crossing the water they'd been everywhere too, cawing and shrieking like demons. For some reason, she was a bit reminded of the graveyard. Uzushio had the same feeling - as if it wasn't meant for the living.

Naruto's face was unnaturally serious as they walked through the broken city. It wasn't surprising. They'd seen more than a few scorch marks on the walls of fallen buildings that were eerily shaped like bodies, and human bones lying crumpled beneath bricks.

They found a sheltered area behind a building that had stayed mostly intact, and there they set up camp. Sakura wordlessly made her way with Sasuke to the perimeter, setting up traps between buildings. Not that she suspected anyone would be sneaking up on them here, but it was standard practice by now.

The place they'd found was interesting. The houses here were all larger and better built than the ones they'd passed before. It could be that they were nearing the center of the village, and that the inhabitants here had been richer, but from what Sakura could see there was another reason behind it.

These were clan houses. She'd spotted several swirling insignias upon doors earlier and it made sense the members of a relatively rich clan would group together, even if it wasn't strictly in a compound.

Kneeling next to a large block of a facade to tie off her snare, Sakura admired the work of the people who'd built the house. Even though most of it was in pieces, the parts that had stayed intact featured beautiful carvings of swirling waves and whirlpools.

"Sakura," Sasuke called from behind another wall, a few metres away. "Can you come over here?"

There was something in his voice that sounded a bit panicked and Sakura immediately stopped the work she'd been doing on the next snare and ran to where she could hear his voice.

He stood in the remains of a living room, or at least what she assumed had once been one. The walls had been torn down, but the inside remained surprisingly intact, creating the odd image of a set you would see in a play.

In his hands, Sasuke held a large painting. Half of it looked like it had been torn into by something with claws, but the other half was completely untarnished in contrast. It was a bit dusty, but it didn't look like something that had been lying around for decades.

In the painting a middle-aged man and woman smiled at the painter. The man had light blond hair and the woman's hair was a brilliant, fiery red.

Sasuke was rubbing the grime off a small plaque at the bottom of the painting.

"Look," he said, almost reverently.

She leaned over his shoulder to read the inscription.

"Reo and Mei Uzumaki?"

"Do you think…" She trailed off. The words hung unspoken between them. Were these relatives of Naruto who'd lived here once, who'd been trapped in these houses as they crumbled to pieces?

"Should we tell him?"

"He deserves to know," Sakura said firmly.

Sasuke just shrugged.

"Sasuke," she said seriously. "Naruto's been an orphan all his life. He'll want to know where his family was from."

He just looked down angrily. "I wouldn't want to learn that my family that I never thought I had was gruesomely murdered by Kiri."

She didn't say anything. What was she supposed to say? This obviously hurt for Sasuke, perhaps bringing back some of his own resentment at his clan's massacre, but Naruto deserved to know that not only did he have family who'd once lived here, but that they'd been part of a clan even.

"We should head back anyways," she said. "We can show him the painting."

Sasuke turned away but handed her the painting. "You go first. I need to finish up my traps."

She took it from him. "Alright."

Not meeting his eyes, Sakura turned and cautiously made her way out of the rubble of what had once been a living room.

She walked silently back to where they had set up camp, wondering if Sasuke was right. Her parents had brought her up with the moral obligation to tell the truth, but they were civilians so maybe that was understandable. Ninja skirted the truth even when it served them no particular purpose, just because it was part of who they were.

Was showing Naruto the painting worth more than the pain he was bound to feel? Was it even her call to make?

Sakura wondered if she was being selfish. Naruto had been an orphan since before he could remember, but he'd finally found another family in Team 7. By showing him it, by telling him that he might have another family - a real family - out there, would it change how he felt?

No. She firmly shut off that trail of thought and stopped her fingers from where they had been worrying a pattern onto the thin wooden frame of the painting. She would show Naruto. Not because her parents had brought her up to tell her the truth or because it was the right thing to do, but because she had gotten to know Naruto these past few months, and she knew that given the choice, he would want to see it.

The blond-haired boy was kneeling by a small pit when she reached the enclosing where they had set up camp, setting up a small fire.

"Naruto," she called. "Can you come over here? I need to show you something."

He turned towards her and smiled. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"We found this in one of the buildings," she said, handing him the painting.

Tenderly he looked down at the faces in the photograph. She saw him reading the names on the corner.

"I'll go continue setting up the fire," she said quietly.

A small tear rolled down his face, but she pretended not to notice, busying herself with her work. Sasuke was wrong, she'd made the right choice.


	10. chapter 9

**A/N: And after a pretty long time, here's another chapter :)) This one I like a bit better than the last, although honestly I'm not very good at writing filler. As the story moves into the chunin exam it'll probably get a bit better hopefully. **

**Anyways, in this chapter we finally, FINALLY, get some Mokuton action (only a tiny bit though hehe). With that in mind, I just want to say that I'm not a certified Naruto nerd, and as such I took a lot of creative liberty with the powers of the Mokuton, even more so later on. I hope you enjoy and I do appreciate constructive criticism but please no hate saying "THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS IN CANON" or something.**

**Welp, that's it. Hope you enjoy the (slightly short) chapter and I'll try to get the next one up soon!**

* * *

[chapter 9]

The sun had just begun to rise over the rubble when Sakura crawled out of her tent the next morning. The climate here was nothing like Konoha, she remarked while shivering. Wispy fog blown over the water covered most of the island and despite it being Spring the air was chilly. It was quiet too, compared to the various clattering and screeching that could be heard on an average Konoha morning. No birds had returned here to make their homes since the attack on Uzushio.

Bundling up in a few extra ayers she groggily made her way to where a small campfire burned merrily through the curtain of mist.

Naruto and Kakashi were already sitting there, the latter having taken the last watch. Their sensei seemed absorbed in his own world, again with his ever-present orange book. Naruto, though, sat silently on one of the logs, arms wrapped around himself as he stared blankly into the fire. His eyes were red-rimmed and a bit puffy, Sakura noticed absently.

She chose not to mention it though, instead letting out a quiet greeting and sitting down next to Naruto.

"Good morning, Sakura" Kakashi greeted airily, without his eyes ever leaving the page of his book. Naruto made no move to acknowledge her presence at all.

They hadn't caught any animals the day before - in all honesty they hadn't even seen any - so resigning herself to the bland taste of ration bars, Sakura unwrapped one from her bag and took a bite.

Sasuke joined the three of them soon after, and like her, he didn't say anything about Naruto's appearance although he obviously noticed it. He pulled out a ration bar as well and slowly chewed on it.

The Konoha ration bars were interesting, to say the least. The current version had been created after specialty nin-psychologists had determined that one of the factors leading to shinobi snapping had to do with the complete blandness and routineness of eating ration bars, especially on the front lines during the war. As if the constant murdering and blood and gore wasn't enough, Sakura thought, rolling her eyes. Anyways, these new ones were modelled after various "flavours" of food, although in some ways it made them even worse. Last time she'd had to eat Soba-flavoured ration bars for a week and, well… the restaurant owner hadn't been too happy about her instinctive reaction to their food.

"We'll head out to the coast after breakfast," Kakashi spoke up. She glanced over to see that he had yet to look up from his book.

"Yes sir," she mumbled sarcastically, not at all excited to have to do anything today.

The next few hours passed by in a blur. They travelled at a slow walking pace back to the pace, not in any particular hurry, and spent the morning searching for the bioluminescent plants their client had requested. But despite the quite specific descriptions they had been given, it was just too hard to pick out from all the other, normal mosses growing on the seashore rocks.

Finally, after a few hours of unproductive searching, Kakashi had finally called them off, saying they'd come back at night, when it'd be easy to pick them out.

So they'd spent the rest of the day training on the water, doing mock fights while struggling to maintain atop the water. Sakura was pleased to find that despite having less chakra and strength than both of the boys - and as a result normally losing in any brawls she partook in - here she had the advantage. Out on the water, Naruto and Sasuke struggled to keep the chakra beneath their feet flowing while also performing jutsu, and were forced to rely on taijutsu only. Even with hand to hand combat Sakura was better, as a sudden hit from her could cause either of them to lose concentration, abruptly sinking beneath the waves.

By the time the sun dipped over the horizon and turned the sky to fire, Sakura's muscles were sore and her body felt tired.

Soon the sky was dark enough that they couldn't see each other clearly anymore. Kakashi gave them a silent nod and handed out clear containers of a thick type of glass. Each one was fancy, with a small battery-operated heater to keep the plants alive and some other technology that Sakura had no idea what it was for.

It was much easier now. The plants glowed softly on the coast and in the shallow water, making the island appear almost magical. She could understand that people might be fascinated enough with them to pay money for their retrieval. She'd never seen anything like them.

The team got to work fast, each choosing a different area to methodically dig up the plants. Some were a bit wilted, Sakura noticed. And there was the question of how they'd gotten to this island in the middle of nowhere in the first place. She wondered if perhaps they weren't native. Maybe some nin in Uzushio had brought them back long ago, and others had tended to them until they'd all been killed.

Honestly she was happy that the village had accepted the mission. It would have been a shame for all the plants to die out, leaving nothing but a barren coast. At least some part of Uzushio would be saved.

All in all, collecting the plants wasn't hard work, although it was far from simple. The instructions had been very specific that none of the roots should be harmed, so the process of removing them from the cracks and nooks in the rocks that they'd grown into was tedious work.

Soon enough, Sakura had filled up her glass container though, and looking around at the others, she saw that most of them were done too.

"Alright, let's head back to camp," Kakashi ordered a few minutes later.

They trudged back - although faster than they had that morning - and within half an hour Sakura was fast asleep. Collecting plants was quite exhausting was the last thing she thought before drifting off.

The next morning dawned early but Kakashi let them sleep in a bit.

"Change of plan," he told them once they were all awake and sitting around the fire they'd had breakfast at the day before. "I was going to have you complete a training exercise today but we're heading back to Konoha instead. The Hokage doesn't want us to linger with the recent activity from Kiri."

Sakura gave a sigh of relief and she could see similar expressions on Sasuke and Naruto's faces. No one felt comfortable here, in the too quiet, broken city.

A few hours later they were heading back over the water again. The return trip wasn't quite as challenging as it had been on the way there. Naruto and Sasuke seemed low on energy, and Naruto's unquenchable spirit still felt a bit dampened by all that had happened over the past days.

He still hadn't talked with them about the painting and the information they'd found, instead remaining oddly quiet the last few days.

Sakura was a bit worried, to tell the truth, but there was nothing she could do. She'd give him space and when he was ready he'd talk to them.

It was a bit disconcerting to realize that she'd always taken Naruto's attachment to the team for granted. He'd treated them like family, probably because he'd never known any other. She wondered if anything would change now that he knew his origins.

They spent that night at the same inn as before.

"Odd, I guess the innkeeper's still not back," Kakashi remarked flippantly.

And despite the hallucinations of blood splotches on the whitewashed walls of the inn, Sakura slept soundly that night.

The following day was a bit nicer. They woke up to the bird songs that they'd been missing on the island, putting everyone in a better mood. To their disappointment, there wasn't any good food left in the inn, meaning yet another meal of fake-tasting ration bars.

They set off soon, everyone eager to get back within the walls of Konoha. Kakashi seemed a little on edge even, perhaps because of what he'd done soon.

Despite the few words it was a nice morning. They'd learned tree walking and water walking but now Kakashi wanted them to put it to use.

"We'll make good time on the way back if we travel the normal way. And by that I mean through the trees," he said.

At first it was nerve-wracking, jumping from branch to branch. Sakura expected the wood to crack beneath her feet at any moment and send her hurtling to the ground. Or even worse for her foot to land completely miss her target. They made slow progress at first, her refusal to go faster meaning she didn't have enough momentum to clear most of the jumps. Even the faint figure of Kakashi running below them on the ground, ready to catch her if she fell couldn't make her heartbeat calm down.

Before long they were truly running though, dashing from one branch to another in a way that made the wind whip her hair in her face. It was a nice feeling though.

As they travelled she dropped back to move next to Naruto, who'd been hanging quietly at the back of the group without any of his normal exuberance.

"Are you going to go searching for your family if they're out there?" She asked softly.

The blond was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm going to ask old man Hokage about it before doing anything."

He paused. "Besides, I keep having to tell myself it doesn't make a difference. Knowing the name of my family doesn't make me any closer to actually knowing _them_."

"It's a start though," she said.

Naruto shrugged. "They haven't been here all my life. Just because we're related by blood doesn't mean they'll even want to know me. Or there might be none left. I know my parents are dead, and the rest of my family might have died in Uzushio."

Sakura didn't allow pity to enter her voice, knowing Naruto wouldn't appreciate it. "Well, if you decide you want to go looking for them you know I'd go with you. Sasuke too probably, although the bastard would grumble about it the entire time."

Naruto smiled at her warmly, the first one she'd seen in a while. "Don't worry about it, Sakura. I've got you guys for now. You're my real family."

His words made something in her heart clench a bit.

"Yeah, we are," she agreed.

The blonde laughed a bit before cracking a grin. "When I'm Hokage everyone will know my name and then my long-lost family members will come flocking to Konoha."

Sakura rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the arm. "That's not happening anytime soon."

They kept jumping through the trees after that, but the atmosphere was a bit nicer and it felt like something had been taken off her chest.

Around midday Kakashi raised a hand and came to a stop on a branch about a hundred metres ahead.

"We'll stop for a quick break here," he ordered. "Make use of the time to rest and stretch. We continue until sunset after."

They leapt down from the trees, Naruto and her immediately collapsing ungainly onto the ground while Sasuke still managed to sit down on a fallen trunk relatively gracefully. Kakashi, of course, looked like he hadn't broken a sweat.

"Alright," he mumbled, ruffling through one of the hundreds of pockets on his pants before pulling out a few ration bars. "Time to feast."

Sakura groaned. "I would give anything for actual food right now."

"When we get back to Konoha," Naruto said determinedly. "First place I'm heading is the ramen stand. Nothing will stop me. Nothing."

Sasuke just took one of the ration bars handed to him by Kakashi and unwrapped it, trying his best to look as if he didn't care enough to agree. Of course the slight vehemence that he bit into it with seemed to indicate otherwise

After finishing the bar, she did what Kakashi had recommended though, taking some time to stretch and lie back on the ground. There'd be dirt in her hair now, but it was worth it. Besides, the first thing she'd do upon getting back to Konoha would be to take a nice, warm, shower.

The next thing she knew she was being shaken awake. Naruto's whiskered face was a few centimeters from her own.

"Ugh, I don't want to leave," she grumbled, rolling over and getting even more dirt over herself.

Naruto laughed, moving away and grabbing his pack.

"Sakura, let's go, get a move on," Kakashi said lazily, already perched in the trees. Sasuke was by his side.

Very dramatically she made a show of sitting up and grabbing her stuff. As she stood up from the ground, preparing to climb back in the trees to continue travelling, she placed a hand against the tree behind her for support.

Her fingers touched the hard bark, the texture coarse beneath her skin.

Overwhelming emotions and feelings that weren't her own flooded her.

_DANGER! FEAR! DEAD! RUN! _the voices said, the sound pounding and echoing within her skull.

She didn't know what to do.

She screamed.


	11. chapter 10

**A/N: Not much to say for this chap :) I'm not too good at writing fight scenes but hopefully it's ok. I know it's a bit weird that basically Sakura can suddenly talk to trees but don't worry, it won't be that much of a big deal later on as other aspects of the Mokuton appear (hint: growing trees lol). I just didn't want her to suddenly get her powers, instead having to slowly develop them.**

**Anyways, as always, enjoy!**

* * *

[Chapter 10]

She snatched her hand off the tree and as if a switch had been flicked, her mind was clear again. Whatever it was, it had come from the tree.

"Sakura! Are you ok?" Kakashi appeared next to her in a cloud of smoke.

She looked around with frantic eyes, like a deer trapped under headlights.

"Run!" She nearly screamed in terror. "We need to run!"

Kakashi didn't seem to get it though.

"Sakura, calm down. Tell me what's wrong," he said, crouching down to face her.

She was still shaking.

"Where are they? Where are Naruto and Sasuke. We need to go!"

Something in the trees caused Kakashi to stand up from his crouching position and turn his head, and Sakura followed his gaze.

Suddenly, she was being knocked off her feet by Kakashi. She flew backwards, hitting the tree she'd just moved away from with an impact that knocked the air out of her.

Instantly the feelings and voices attacked again.

_DANGER! HERE! TOO LATE! DEAD! _they said.

With some pain, she turned to see the figure of a man facing off against Kakashi. The newcomer was tall, with long, flowing blue hair and eyes so dark there didn't seem to be a pupil. He reminded her slightly of Sasuke, although where her teammate was pale, he was tanned, his skin a beautiful shade of bronze.

He wore a black tank that showed off his well-defined shoulders and arms and loose fitting pants. He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen and his appearance gave her an odd feeling of safety.

The man smirked.

"I assume you are the ones who killed the messenger?"

His voice was like honey, soft and smooth, rolling over her like a wave. It was calming too, like the sun shining down on her skin on a warm summer day. Sakura felt herself relax. There was nothing to be worried about. She peacefully leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes.

_GENJUTSU! FAKE! ILLUSION! RUN! _the voices screamed in her head.

Sakura bolted upright, the genjutsu breaking off of her. Sasuke and Naruto shared the same sleepy expression which seconds before had been on her face. Only Kakashi was unaffected, still standing across from the nin.

Kakashi shot her a quick glance across the clearing.

"Wake them up," he signed, almost too fast for her to catch the meaning.

"Kiri sent you, I assume," Kakashi stated, addressing the man. "We found your spy weeks ago."

She had to break Naruto and Sasuke out of the genjutsu, and fast. They were across the clearing from her, still up in the trees. Between them stood Kakashi and the foreign nin.

The blue-haired man shrugged. "You have no proof he was ours and you won't find any."

Kakashi didn't reply, instead silently lifting up his headband. She couldn't see his face but the Kiri-nin's eyes widened in excitement.

"Ah, so you're the one they call Sharingan-no-Kakashi," he said, grinning. His teeth were pointed, Sakura noticed with a shiver of fear.

Suddenly the two sprung into motion, meeting in the centre of the clearing in a battle of blows almost too fast for her eyes to follow.

Taking this as her cue, Sakura quickly melted back into the surrounding forest and sprinted in a large semi-circle around the clearing. She had to make her way to Naruto and Sasuke.

She was so focused on her goal she almost didn't notice the kunai sent her way. At the last second an accidental brushing of a tree gave her a brain-shattering warning though.

_MOVE! DUCK! MOVE!_

She tumbled to the ground awkwardly, the kunai cutting a faint scratch along her arm. Her heart pounding she stayed there for a moment. The pain of the cut didn't even register due to the adrenaline flooding her veins. Thank god for whatever the fuck the voice in her head was, without it she'd be dead. She'd figure out what it was later, for now she'd accept that it was saving her life.

The kunai lay embedded in a tree trunk about a metre away. It had a curved blade, something unique to the weapons made in Kiri. It was made for stabbing and thrusting, less for slicing. Deciding not to forgone any weapon she grabbed it and kept running.

Within moments she'd made it to where Naruto and Sasuke lay dozing on a tree branch. Taking a deep breath she steeled herself and sent chakra to her feet, climbing up the trunk.

She kneeled beside Sasuke first. The academy had said that to break another out of a genjutsu all you had to do was send a jolt of chakra to the victims system to disrupt it. Steeling herself she pushed chakra down to her hand and lightly placed it on Sasuke's chest. She pushed the chakra onwards, outwards.

With a jolt, Sasuke sat upright, his forehead almost banging into hers. His eyes were wild and confused.

"You were put under a genjutsu," she said.

Sasuke looked like he wanted to curse. "I need the sharingan," he murmured bitterly beneath his breath.

Sakura pretended she hadn't heard. "I'm going to go wake Naruto up," she said, standing up from her crouch and flying to the next branch where Naruto slumbered. She repeated the same process and within seconds all three of them stood grouped together.

Within the clearing, Kakashi and the Kiri-nin fought on.

"Kakashi's trying to draw him away from here," Sakura noticed. Indeed the fight was moving away from them and into the forest.

"He doesn't think we can help," Sasuke said, scowling.

"Well what are we waiting for," Naruto said loudly. "We need to help him! We're stronger than he thinks!"

"I don't know if we can, guys," Sakura said, unsure. "We'd probably just be a burden to him cause he'd have to protect us too."

"Whatever, we can definitely handle one guy," Naruto replied confidently.

Sasuke seemed more rational though. "We'll follow but not engage for now," he ordered curtly. The other two didn't protest and the three made their way through the trees.

Sakura could see smoke rising up from several of the trees around them, indicators that one of the two ninja had used some type of Katon jutsu.

Cautiously they approached the still-ongoing fight.

Both nin had sustained injuries. The Kiri-nin's left arm hung by his side but Kakashi was limping and had all his weight on one leg as they disengaged. That was bad, Sakura thought anxiously.

All three genin watched nervously as the two experienced ninja clashed again in a show of sparks flying from kunai and split second replacements.

Kakashi cut down a clone of the Kiri-nin only for the Kiri-nin to stab him in the back, revealing yet another nin. Kakashi ducked under a swipe of the other's kunai before shunshining behind him and following up with a counterattack.

And then within just seconds the unthinkable happened. The Kiri-nin unleashed a water jutsu and disappeared from sight. He reappeared moments later behind Kakashi and tapped a single finger to their sensei's head. Kakashi collapsed like a puppet with its string cut.

Sakura's heart stopped beating. Sasuke swore under his breath.

The Kiri-nin smiled, an expression both beautiful and dangerous.

"You can come out now kiddies," he said in a sing-song.

That was the last thing Sakura wanted to do. Could she run? No, she wasn't fast enough. She was a snail compared to this nin. And whatever he wanted… She was sure it was the packet Kakashi had killed the innkeeper for. Whatever it was, it was important. Which meant she couldn't allow the nin to find it. Besides, Kakashi was their only chance to win. Hopefully he was only under a genjutsu. If not, well…

Sakura dropped out of the trees and to the ground, landing in a crouch. She tried to hide her fear.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Naruto and Sasuke drop down as well.

"Is he dead," she asked loudly, her voice betraying none of her nerves. The man stood to gain nothing from lying, so maybe he'd tell them.

"Oh, rest assured, he's alive," the shinobi responded in his soft, honey voice. "Just under a simply genjutsu I created."

That was good news, Sakura thought determinedly. That meant they had a chance as long as she could reach Kakashi and jolt him with chakra. Hopefully that would do the trick.

"We need to free Kakashi from the genjutsu," she determinedly whispered back to Sasuke and Naruto without taking her eyes off the man.

The foreign nin heard her.

He chuckled. "Oh, really? Well I won't stand in your way then," he said, taking a large step away from Kakashi and leaning back against a nearby tree.

He looked completely relaxed, his frame lithe and his hands resting behind his head.

"Go for it," he said cheerfully, waving a hand at Kakashi. Sakura frowned, it couldn't be that easy right.

Naruto rushed forward without any doubts. "You bastard," he yelled at the nin.

Sakura watched, unbelieving, as Naruto crossed the forest in large bounds. Then suddenly he stopped, darting backwards.

"Naruto?" she questioned under her breath. There was nothing in front of him.

Naruto had begun rolling around, trying to avoid some invisible threat. A genjutsu, she realized. It wasn't real, the Kiri-nin was just toying with them. He still stood there against the tree, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Naruto," she screamed, rushing to his side.

Suddenly the world around her went black and she was falling, falling. Sakura screamed and then she was actually falling. She knew she was still in the forest, logically her brain screamed that she was still in the forest, but it didn't feel like it. It felt like there was no ground beneath her feet, that there was nothing but darkness.

She tried disrupting her chakra system. The darkness disappeared and she was back in the forest again. She breathed a sigh of relief and then spun to face the Kiri-nin.

He scowled. "Foolish girl," he reprimanded.

The forest disappeared, only to be replaced by a hellish dimension. Fires burned around her and the sky was streaked with red lines.

"There's no point in trying," his voice boomed from everywhere around her, echoing out in the distance.

Sakura tried to disrupt her chakra network again, but this time nothing happened. He'd cast more than one layer of genjutsu on her.

She had to get to the trees, she realized. She had to get to those voices. Suddenly the surrounding around her changed. She was underwater. She gasped, feeling water fill her throat.

It wasn't real, she told herself. It felt real though, she could feel herself slowly asphyxiating.

The trees! Blindly she just forced her body in the general direction she remembered the trees being. The water was replaced by ground again but suddenly the sky was raining blood and there were body parts falling down to the ground. A finger hit her in the face and bounced off, leaving a smear of blood and she screamed. She dove to the side to avoid another obstacle and suddenly she felt herself hit something solid. The voices were back instantly.

_It's not real. It's not real. It's not real _they reassured her. There wasn't anything of the urgency they'd displayed before. It was so odd but she could feel the fakeness of the world created by the illusion. She could even see the real forest underneath it, as if the genjutsu was simply a translucent veil cast on reality.

She took a deep breath. She couldn't let the Kiri-nin know that the illusion wasn't affecting her anymore though. She stumbled around a bit more, all while making sure to stay touching the tree.

How would she get to Kakashi, she thought desperately. Foremost she needed to break him out of the genjutsu. But just sending him a jolt of chakra wouldn't be enough, would it? Every time she'd tried on herself the Kiri-nin had simply cast another layer of genjutsu on her almost right away.

Was there some way to transfer the voices in her head and the clarity they brought to him? No, it hadn't seemed like he could hear them before, and it would be nothing less than foolish to act on the assumption that she'd be able to let him hear the voices.

She'd have to go with her first plan. She'd get close enough to him to send a jolt of chakra. Hopefully, Kakashi wasn't unconscious, only trapped in the genjutsu, and he wouldn't be too disoriented when he came out. That would allow him to avoid any new genjutsu cast on him.

She let go of the tree and took a step in his direction. Instantly the calming presence inside her head disappeared and the genjutsu engulfed her surroundings. She panicked. She was falling again. Falling, falling, falling forever.

By pure luck she hit the tree again and suddenly her mind and vision cleared, she could see again.

She couldn't leave the tree without becoming hopelessly disoriented, she realized.

_Take me. Take me with you, _the voices whispered.

But there was no way she could take the entire tree with her though, that was just foolish. She'd have to completely unroot it. Unless…

Sakura made a big show of diving away from a falling boulder in the genjutsu. As if by accident, she pretended to crash into one of the branches of the tree. Flailing, she grabbed a thin branch and slid it up her sleeve. Thank god she'd chosen to wear a long-sleeve shirt today. If she'd still been wearing one of those silly dresses she'd used to…

As she'd expected, even though she wasn't touching the tree anymore the branch did the trick. The real world solidified and the voices in her head whispered praise.

_Yes! Clever child!_

Taking one last breath, she moved towards where she knew Kakashi lay.

It was a slow progress. She couldn't give away that the genjutsu wasn't affecting her anymore, meaning she had to act like she would've without the Voice.

The Voice. She'd decided it to call it that in the meantime. There would be time to figure out what it was later.

Throwing herself to the ground and pretending to squirm and roll and desperately paw at her clothes in response to the thousands of little insects and bugs the genjutsu had created around her, Sakura slowly but steadily made her way towards Kakashi.

She might not be able to go directly to him, but if she could get close enough she could make a sudden dive towards him, hopefully waking him up before the Kiri-nin could stop her.

Minutes ticked by. She was almost there. She prayed that the Kiri-nin wouldn't get bored and kill them on the spot. God knew it would be easy enough to send a well-aimed kunai their way.

Finally, Sakura knew she was within reach of Kakashi.

She steeled herself. Then, waiting for a well-timed weapon to come falling from the sky in the genjutsu, she dove towards him.

Instantly, the genjutsu disappeared and she knew the Kiri-nin had caught on to her intentions. But it was too late.

As soon as she made contact with her sensei she sent a burst of chakra, much stronger than she'd used to wake Naruto and Sasuke up.

She could hear a kunai whistling towards her and she turned in shock, helpless and too slow to stop it.

Then suddenly there was a figure in front of her, snatching it out of the air.

She breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Kakashi's familiar vest.

She'd done it.

The fight was over in mere minutes. She wasn't sure how Kakashi did it, but after waking him from the genjutsu he was somehow faster, stronger. It was clear to anyone watching that he had the upper hand.

Within half a minute he'd forced the Kiri-nin to lose control over the genjutsus he'd cast on Naruto and Sasuke and the two boys stumbled out of the haze they'd been in instantly, coming to her side at the edge of the battle to watch.

Then, as the Kiri-nin started to unleash various jutsu, Kakashi used his sharingan to copy each and every single one of them. His opponent's face contorted with fury and his strikes started becoming less precise.

Seconds later the fight was over.

The Kiri-nin collapsed to the ground, his throat slit with a kunai. His body hit the ground with a thump and then the forest was silent again,

Looking to her side, she saw that Naruto was staring white-faced at the scene before him and even Sasuke seemed a bit shaky.

She wondered why she wasn't reacting at all. When she'd seen Kakashi killing the innkeeper she'd been scared out of her mind, after all. Now she felt calm though. She was no stranger to blood and death. She felt ancient, almost. As if she'd lived a thousand years.

The branch, she realized, she was still carrying it. For a moment, she debated against throwing the stick away. But it was better to keep it for now. She needed the calm and clarity. She'd deal with everything later.

The sound of Kakashi hitting the ground as well broke her out of thoughts. Her sensei weakly slumped to the ground, coming to rest unconscious next to the dead Kiri-nin.

Sakura immediately hurried worriedly over to his side. What if he'd been poisoned? Admittedly, Kiri-nin almost never used poison as a weapon, but there was always the chance. She flashed back through the battle, trying to remember when it might have happened, but couldn't.

Kneeling at his side, she checked his pulse. It was steady. It was probably just exhaustion and the strain of using the sharingan.

"We need to get somewhere safe," she said, turning back to Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke immediately shook himself out of whatever trance he'd been in.

"We're near a small village. I saw it as we passed this morning. We can carry him there and find an inn to rest until he wakes up."

Naruto didn't move.

"Naruto," Sakura called loudly. "Come on."

The blonde shook his head slowly and gave them a weak smile. "Sorry, it's just the first time I've seen someone die in front of me."

Sakura nodded. "I know. We need to move though. There's always the chance that he wasn't alone, even though it didn't seem like he had a team."

Naruto nodded and moved towards the three of them.

"Sasuke, can you and Naruto take turns carrying Kakashi-sensei on your backs?" Sakura asked. "I'll take your bags. I just don't think I have the strength to lift him."

The black-haired boy nodded. Together with Naruto, she managed to lift Kakashi and place him on Sasuke's back. It was hard, she noted, moving an unconscious person. They were too limp, too unresisting. Sasuke let out a soft grunt as he adjusted Kakashi's position on his back.

"You alright?" She asked softly.

"Hn. Let's go."

Sakura cast one last look at the Kiri-nin's corpse behind her. The blood stained the forest floor in a small pool around him. He was even more beautiful in death.

She turned around and walked forward.


	12. chapter 11

**A/N: A shorter filler chapter, just because I haven't added one in a while. Next chapter, the chunin exams will be starting, which I'm really excited to write. I have a lot of things planned for them (including Sakura's Mokuton developing!). I hope that the tone didn't seem to change too much in this chapter. I wrote it in three different parts, each a few weeks apart, because I was struggling a bit with motivation. Due to that I don't think it flows very well :( oops! I've got a bit of the next one written already so hopefully it will be out soon! Anyways, hope you're all doing ok and stay healthy!  
**

* * *

[Chapter 11]

"You're back!" a high pitched voice shrieked as soon as Sakura stepped back through the gates of Konoha. A blonde figure launched herself towards her, almost causing her to topple over.

"How was the mission? I want to hear about it!" Ino gushed, clutching onto her like a koala on a tree. "Oh my god, I've been so jealous! To think that you guys got to go on a C-rank, and so soon! Asuma-sensei hasn't been listening to my begging at all. We're totally ready though."

"Ino," Sakura gasped out. "Let go. Can't breath."

The blonde's grip on her loosened and she frowned. "Back after all that time and no greeting for your best friend?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Hey Ino-pig. It's good to be back."

A smile was instantly back on her friend's face. "Right, well let's go get some lunch and you can tell me all about it!"

"Alright, that sounds nice," she agreed. Ino moved forward ahead of her, turning back with a smile.

"Your treat, by the way. It can come out of your mission pay," the blonde added on mischievously. Sakura rolled her eyes but lightly jogged to catch up to her. The two strolled side by side, falling into a comfortable routine of chatter about the latest gossip in the village and what their teammates had been up to.

Lunch with Ino was refreshing. It was nice not to have to listen to Sasuke and Naruto bicker all the time. Despite what some might have assumed, Ino was a really good listener too, and she listened engagedly to Sakura's tales of their travels, only occasionally nodding along or asking her to expand on something.

"So wait, the Kiri-nin who attacked you guys was super hot?" She asked, leaning forward in her seat.

Sakura sighed. Her friend was so boy-crazy.

"Ino, he's dead…" she trailed off.

Ino just raised her eyebrows. "But…" she prompted.

"Yeah, he was gorgeous," Sakura admitted with a grin.

The two finished up their food soon enough and Sakura paid. The cost didn't end up being too bad, as she hadn't ordered much and Ino had just chosen a salad.

"You need to eat more," she'd told the blonde disapprovingly. "Gain some muscles."

Ino had laughed. "What are you? My mother? And don't worry, I like my figure as it is."

"Although," she'd continued, giving a non-discreet glance up and down Sakura's body. "You've put on a bit of weight, haven't you?"

Sakura had actually gained muscle since graduating the academy. Training under Kakashi and with competitive teammates like Sasuke and Naruto couldn't have resulted in anything else. And it wasn't like she'd grown bulky and man-ish like she'd feared. Her form was all lithe and strong now, nothing like the stick arms and legs she'd had before. She liked her body, for the first time in years.

Now the pair strolled down the main street of Konoha, a few blocks down from the restaurant they'd had lunch at.

"You know," Ino said offhandedly. "Asuma-sensei nominated our team for this year's Chunin exams. He told us that even though it's our rookie year he thinks we're ready."

Sakura looked at her in surprise.

"The chunin exams, huh?"

"Yeah, that's right. And," Ino said, leaning conspiratorially towards Sakura, "I heard that all the Rookie 9 teams got nominated! That means we'll be competing against each other!"

It was weird, she'd never really thought about the chunin exams. She knew that the next logical step after making genin would be to take the chunin exams to try and move up the ranks, but after having been placed on Team 7, she'd never even gave it a second thought. With Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi there was an odd feeling that they were the only team she would ever have, that it would be that way forever.

It was a bit disconcerting to realize that their time together would come to an end. That they'd be separated and placed on new teams if they passed. Konoha encouraged teamwork as genin, of course, but being a chunin required just as much teamwork, although with a different focus. It was as chunin that shinobi were required to learn how to work together with anyone, not just people they'd gotten used to or were close to.

"Oh, come on," Ino interrupted her thoughts laughingly, as though she knew exactly what Sakura was thinking. "It's not like you'll pass anyways," she added teasingly.

Sakura rolled her eyes but had to let out a small chuckle. "Well if I'm not going to pass, you have no chance, Ino-pig," she said, turning her nose haughtily in the air. "Your skills are leagues behind mine. And you haven't even gone on a real mission yet!"

Ino cried in mock anger and the two soon fell into giggles.

The blond looked up. "Sakura," she said, reaching out for her arm.

Instinctively, Sakura turned back towards Ino, crashing into a taller figure.

"Oh, sorry!" she squeaked, jumping back a bit.

Two foreign-nin stood in front of her, one with his arms still out as if to catch her. He wore various black drapings over his body and body paint on his visible skin. The girl beside him had curly blond hair in four ponytails and a large fan on her back. From the insignia on their headbands, both were from Sand.

"Watch where you're going," the boy grunted.

The girl just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. They're just kids, Kankuro."

"Hey!" Ino exclaimed back. "You don't look any older than us!"

She cast a suspicious glance at their headbands. "What are you even doing in Konoha anyways?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she lightly smacked Ino's arm to get her attention. "I bet they're here for the chunin-exams," she whispered loudly.

The boy with the body paint heard her and laughed, smirking. "That's right, we're here to become chunin. Am I to take it you're our competitors?"

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. "That's right we are."

He snorted. "Guess it'll be an easy exam this year then. Although I should've expected it, them taking place in Konoha…"

"Just watch!" Ino shouted in outrage. "We'll beat your asses. Right, Sakura?"

Sakura didn't respond. There was a niggling sensation that was screwing with her mind. There was a strange urge to stifle something, the sort of feeling of wanting to flick away a pest.

"Uh, yeah," she agreed non-committedly, not really hearing what her friend had asked.

"Ha," The girl next to Kankuro exclaimed. "Your friend doesn't sound very sure. Sure you're not getting overconfident here, little girl?"

The feeling grew stronger. No longer was it a slight tickling feeling at the back of her mind, now she could feel something. A roiling mass of energy was coming from the tree behind the Sand-nin duo.

A shadow of a person appeared on the road, elongated by the angle of the afternoon sun.

"Temari, Kankuro," a red-headed boy said softly, standing horizontally on the tree trunk. He slowly walked down, each step more menacing than the last.

The energy felt like a barely contained monster struggling against its constraints, and it scared her. At the same time she felt the need to squash it like a fly.

"Gaara," the girl - Temari - whimpered softly. "We're sorry-"

"Stop wasting time with these fools," he ordered coldly. "Let's go back to the hotel."

Briefly, his eyes met Sakura's. First there was nothing. Then, quick enough for her to have imagined it, a flash of discomfort crossed his face.

She frowned, confused, but he turned away suddenly, marching away. Kankuro and Temari scurried after him, with Temari giving them a last glare.

"Brr," Ino shivered once they were out of sight. "That red-head really gave me the creeps. Not gonna lie, I tried to be tough in front of them, but I do _not _want to face them in the exams."

"Yeah," Sakura replied distractedly. "Me too."

The two strolled down the street in relative silence for a while longer before parting ways, both a bit disoriented after the run in with the sand team.

"I have a team meeting soon but I'll see you around, Pig," Sakura said with a last hug to Ino as they reached an intersection. One road led to Team 7's training grounds, on the outskirts of the village, another to the market district, where Ino's family owned a flower shop.

She stood at the edge of the road for a few seconds, watching the blond stroll along the road, before turning and setting off towards their training ground. Alone now, she couldn't get the look of discomfort that had crossed the red-head's face out of her mind. His own teammates had seemed scared of him, so what could she possibly have done to discomfort him?

She must have imagined it, Sakura decided, pushing the thought out of her mind.

Naruto was already there when she showed up at the predetermined time, although Kakashi and Sasuke were nowhere in sight.

"Good afternoon," she greeted the blond, sitting down at the base of a nearby tree.. He smiled and bounded over to sit next to her.

"Hey, Sakura," he said. "Do you know what Kakashi called this meeting for? He sure got out of the hospital fast too, I went there this morning to visit but he was gone."

She shrugged. "I think he just had chakra exhaustion, so there's not much the hospital can do for him besides rest."

Looking over at Naruto she gave a little, secretive smile. "And yeah, I think I might know what the meeting's for."

"Tell me!" Naruto demanded.

She just grinned and pretended to zip her mouth shut. "You'll find out when Sasuke and Kakashi get here. Don't worry though, it's a good thing."

The blonde rolled his eyes. He didn't keep pestering her though, which was surprising. Just weeks ago he surely would have. The mission to Uzushio had really changed them all.

They made small talk for a bit, Naruto talking about how good the ramen he'd had for lunch was and Sakura telling him about her lunch with Ino. She left out the run-in with the Sand team though. There was something off about it that she didn't want to share. Besides, it would give away what she presumed was the purpose of the meeting.

Sasuke showed up a little while later, while Kakashi finally arrived around half an hour after the meetup time, which honestly wasn't that bad in comparison to how late he normally came.

"Good morning, my cute little students," the silver-haired jounin greeted cheerfully.

Sakura sighed. "It's afternoon, sensei."

Kakashi looked distractedly up at the sky. "Oh, is it? I could have sworn when I left my house the sun…"

The three of them just rolled their eyes.

A scroll was suddenly thrust under her face. She grabbed it from Kakashi and he handed out two identical looking ones to Sasuke and Naruto.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi smiled mysteriously. "Read it and find out."

Sakura unrolled her scroll.

"Annual inter-village chunin exams," Sasuke read out slowly. "Host village: Konohagakure."

A wide grin broke out on Naruto's face as he turned to her. "You knew, didn't you, Sakura?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in her direction.

She shrugged sheepishly. "I had lunch with Ino and she told me Asuma signed their team up."

"We're going to win, believe it!" Naruto crowed.

The silver-haired jounin allowed Naruto to bound around in excitement for a few moments, before quieting him with a hand.

"This is a serious choice you have to make though," he said. "If you keep reading, you'll find forms to sign that release the village from liability in the case of injury or death."

He sent them all a look. "And trust me, people die every year. Mostly teams who should've waited longer to enter."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Of course we're ready, sensei."

"All members of the team must make the choice of whether to attend or not individually," Kakashi said. He shot her a quick look, which made Sakura frown a bit. Did he really think that she would choose not to join. She had been thinking about the possibility earlier, but could she really pass this opportunity up for her and her team?

No, if Ino's team was entering, they could too. If anything, they were more prepared, having gone on the mission to Uzushio.

"Stop worrying about us, sensei," Sakura said, with more confidence than she felt. She smiled. "I think you just don't want us to enter because you know we'll pass and then you won't be our sensei anymore."

Kakashi shot her down. "Nah, I can't wait to be rid of you three. I'm planning to retire and settle down in a small village in Grass country as a farmer."

"If you'd done that years ago, maybe we'd have gotten a better teacher," Sasuke said with a sigh.

"You're way past your expiration date as it is, sensei," Sakura added.

The jounin clutched his heart in mock-hurt. "You wound me, my cute little students."

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Team dinner to celebrate?" he asked casually.

Sakura was surprised for a moment. Sasuke had never been the one to instigate any hangout between them, always just choosing to go along with whatever she or Naruto suggested.

She nodded enthusiastically though. "Of course."

Naruto beamed. "We can go to Ichiraku's!"

She hit him lightly on the head. "You just went there for lunch, idiot! You can't eat ramen every meal!"

"Watch me!"

Naruto got up and held out a hand for her. She grabbed on to it and he helped her up.

"Let's go," he said cheerfully.

From behind her, she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"You two go ahead," Kakashi said with a cheerful smile. "I just need to talk to Sakura about something for a moment."

She could feel her heartbeat jump a beat. She really did _not_ want to talk to Kakashi alone right now. She sent a pleading glance towards Sasuke, as if begging him to save her from this

Sasuke sent her a curious look. For a second he looked a bit doubtful but finally shrugged. "Whatever. Let's go, Naruto."

"Ramen time!" Naruto cried, running off. Sakura sighed, they really had just left her here.

Kakashi gestured for her to sit on a nearby log. She sat down and he crouched down in front of her so that he was at eye-level. She felt like a child being reprimanded by their parent, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

The forest was quiet for a few minutes as the jounin simply held her gaze. She fidgeted a bit before silently reprimanding herself and holding herself still. If she was right about what he wanted to talk about…

In the distance she could hear Naruto's loud voice receding.

After a moment, Kakashi finally broke the silence. "I know you looked at the files while I was unconscious," he said with a sigh.

Right.

"I know, I'm sorry," Sakura replied, trying to muster as much sincerity as she could.

"No. That's the problem!" Kakashi said, raising his voice a little bit. "I don't think you understand the severity of what you did."

"It's against the shinobi code, I know," she said quietly, not meeting his gaze. This was the first time she'd been scared of her teacher since walking in on him murdering the innkeeper.

Kakashi relaxed his posture, as if only just realizing she'd been leaning away from him. "Sakura," he said, closing his eyes for a moment. "The Hokage ordered me to kill anyone who saw the contents of that file."

Sakura's lips parted in a silent 'O'. Her mind raced. She slowly moved her hand towards her kunai pouch. She didn't stand any real chance against Kakashi, but if he still had chakra exhaustion, she might be able to run.

"I'm not going to kill you, Sakura," the jounin said tiredly. "You need to stop thinking that. I'm on your side here."

She felt warm fingers against her jaw, moving her head so that her eyes met his exposed black one again.

She swallowed. "I only looked through the first few pages."

"That's good," Kakashi said gently. His eyes pierced hers, as if looking for a lie. "Did you understand what they were for?"

She nodded. "Deep-undercover spy mission assignments."

"And you understand why it would be disastrous for Konoha if this knowledge got out?"

She nodded again. "It might start a war."

Kakashi nodded. "Exactly."

"You haven't lived through a war, Sakura. And trust me, you don't want to," he said quietly.

"I know."

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes searching hers again, as if looking for something she didn't even know.

"I don't know what names you saw in there," Kakashi said. "But put them out of your mind. Make yourself forget about them."

"I can't make myself forget," Sakura whimpered.

"You will," Kakashi warned. "I'll get you pills to help with it, but they won't work unless you make the choice to forget."

"Ok," she agreed shakily, nodding.

"Sakura," he said seriously. "You're the only person in this village apart from the Hokage and whoever put them there that knows about these missions. You cannot tell anyone, no matter how much you think you trust them. The lives of these agents are at stake."

"I know," she said, squirming under his gaze.

"And you haven't told anyone else?"

She shook her head. "No."

Kakashi finally looked away, standing up from his crouch to loom over her. "Alright. Go catch up with Naruto and Sasuke. I'll give you the pills tomorrow."

Sakura stood up too. "Kakashi-sensei," she said softly, causing him to look over at her.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Her teacher let out a sigh and tilted his head back to look at the sky.

"Curious shinobi end up legends or dead in a ditch, Sakura," Kakashi said, his voice sounding disconnected. "Don't wind up the latter."


	13. chapter 12

**A/N: Well, I'm not too happy with the beginning of this chapter, but I thought I should just get one out. I kinda glossed over the first exam and most of the second, mainly because I really dislike re-writing whatever happens in the actual plot. I suppose just imagine that the exact same thing happens as in the anime/manga for the parts I skipped over. Also, in the second stage, I don't remember if they used cannons or not haha. I just decided to channel hunger games vibes lol. **

**Also, a reviewer noticed that when Sakura came back from her mission, she and Ino were suddenly best friends again. I looked back on my notes for the story and realized that this is indeed kinda inconsistent. Oops! I hadn't written a chapter in so long that I forgot and just added her conversation with Ino as a filler. I actually had bigger plans that concerned Ino's relationship with Sakura dissolving that I was going to expand on later, but now they don't work anymore :( I'm a lil bit upset with myself. I really should re-read the previous chapters before writing a new one haha.**

* * *

[Chapter 12]

"Welcome to the first phase of the exam."

The examinees stood waiting in the large gathering hall in silence, all gazing in unison at the tall man who had just spoken.

"My name is Ibiki Morino. I'll be your proctor for this stage," he rasped.

He looked intimidating, with the scars running down his face and his long trench coat. She'd heard of his name before, Sakura thought vaguely, although she couldn't remember where.

"Please, make your way inside," he invited, gesturing towards a door next to him which was quickly opened by a pair of chunin.

The genin filed inside the room slowly. Standing on her toes to peer around the taller boy in front of her, she caught her first glimpse.

Tables with chairs were lined up in rows, all facing a blackboard at the front. It was an examination room! Despite herself, she smiled a little bit. This was what she was good at.

Although separated by a few other contestants, from somewhere behind her she could hear Naruto groan loudly as he saw the room. Wincing, she suddenly felt a little more doubt.

There was no jostling or screeching of chairs on the floor as everyone took a seat. It only served to remind her that this wasn't the academy anymore. These were all genin who believed themselves ready to become chunin.

At the front of the examination space, Ibiki cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. It was unnecessary. Everyone had already been watching him.

The proctor looked at them without facial expression. For a second, Sakura met his eyes and she instantly sat a bit straighter in her chair. This was where she would prove herself!

"A piece of paper will be handed out to you," he said slowly. "On this paper are nine questions. These questions will make up your exam."

As he spoke, various chunin from around the room started walking through the aisles, handing out sheets of paper. She hadn't heard anything about not looking at them, and seeing other contestants around the room flip their papers over, Sakura did as well.

The questions were hard, was the first thing she noticed as she skimmed through them. They all had elements that would have required independent research. Most of this hadn't been touched on at the academy, she realized with a frown.

Looking back up at the front, she noticed Ibiki was still talking.

"If you are caught cheating three times, both you and your team will be disqualified," he warned.

Well, she didn't think she needed to cheat but at least this gave Naruto and Sasuke some buffer, she supposed.

A thought entered her mind, unbidden. She recalled the feeling she'd felt seeing all the genin soundlessly sit down. The things she'd learned over the past weeks.

It wouldn't be this simple. This wasn't like one of the tests at the academy. This was an exam to be promoted to chunin. There was more than the piece of paper in front of her.

Looking around the room, although making sure to keep her gaze off any papers so as not to be marked down as 'cheating', Sakura watched the other genin. Some were quite obviously trying to look at other people's papers, while others just sat in their seats, pulling at their hair in frustration.

A few rows ahead to her right she saw Shikamaru. The Nara wasn't doing anything though. He just sat there with his head on the table, looking to all the world as if he was sleeping. Sakura narrowed her eyes. There was no way he was _actually_ sleeping, right? He had a reputation as lazy but she was sure he knew just as well as all of them how important these exams were.

She supposed it didn't really matter for her. Turning back to the paper in front of her, she thoughtfully twirled a pencil in her hand. The first question concerned the flight trajectory of a dented kunai. Supposedly it was snowing and there was a wind blowing southeast. She sighed, this wasn't what she had expected for the chunin exams. Ninja didn't have time to calculate projectile trajectories in the midst of a fight. They acted on intuition.

Nevertheless, she scrawled down the necessary calculations and answered the question. The next eight questions were of a similar difficulty, but her mind had always absorbed information like a sponge and all she needed to know was stored away in little corners.

The clock on the wall kept ticking. It was irritatingly loud.

Sakura felt a tickle at the back of her mind, like someone trying to sneak in. She blinked and then the feeling was gone. From one row behind her, she heard Ino gasp. Curious, she turned around in her chair and met the blonde's eyes. They were wide open, staring at her in shock. Frowning, she mouthed 'what?'.

She could see one of the proctors sitting at the side watching them mark something down in his notebook, and hurriedly she turned back to her paper. There was no way she was getting disqualified over this.

As she finished answering the last question, a memory finally clicked. After the graveyard incident, when the Yamanaka had been examining her mind, he'd said there was something there preventing him, stopping him. It was the Voice, it had to be. Ino must've been trying to use her mind-jutsu to see Sakura's answers, and the Voice had stopped her. She smirked a tiny bit. No way Ino was going to steal her answers, she'd spent way too long on them to just give them up like that.

There was still around half an hour left until the end of the first stage, so Sakura flipped over her paper and crossed her arms over her chest, placing her head down on the sheet. She tried to relax but the sound of her neighbours worriedly scribbling down numbers just to cross them out again kept breaking her peace. She rolled her eyes. They had no idea what they were doing obviously.

A disturbance in the aisle to her right made her lift her head back up. One of the ninja she'd met on the road with Ino was strolling down the aisle by himself. It was the shinobi with the cloth covering his head and the facepaint.

He walked casually up the steps with two proctors at his side, yet something about his demeanour seemed suspicious. He was carrying a large wrapped bundle on his back. What was it?

Two eyes opened near the top of the bundle and looked down as the nin passed several desks. Despite the curiosity about what exactly was in that bundle, Sakura almost had to smack herself. It was so obvious, how had she not realized earlier? This wasn't an academy or civilian exam, this was an exam to become chunin. It was a shinobi exam.

To pass the first stage of the exam you had to cheat unnoticed. You had to use any means you had to spy on other people's work. Like a shinobi would do.

She shook her head angrily. The sooner she truly realized this the better. Here in the first stage, the worst thing that forgetting this was a shinobi exam could result in was failure. Next time though, the consequence would be death.

About half an hour passed and Ibiki announced the existence of a tenth question. When Naruto stood up and loudly proclaimed his resolution, Sakura had to groan in frustration. His speech had been heroic, but in the end all it accomplished was increasing the number of people who might kill them.

A woman burst in shortly after. Sakura took a deep breath. She needed to be ready for the second stage of the exams.

They were dismissed for the day and told to meet at the gates of training area 44 early the next morning.

"It's called the Forest of Death among the shinobi ranks," the second stage proctor had told them viciously. She'd licked her lips. "I guess you'll find out why."c

As they left the examination room, Sakura apologetically turned down Naruto's invitation for a team dinner at Ichiraku's. She needed to prepare for tomorrow.

She walked slowly along the quiet streets of Konoha to her house. It was early in the evening, and she could see lights on in the windows of houses.

Behind her, she heard footsteps crunching on the gravel. Her instincts flaring, she whirled around, a kunai drawn.

It was the red-haired shinobi from Sand.

"Hello," she greeted tentatively. Slowly, she lowered her kunai and stored it back in a pouch. He was in Konoha as an exam participant, so she doubted he would attack her. Looking around, she couldn't see either of his teammates.

Hands made of sand burst from a gourd on his back and she cursed her stupidity for putting her weapon away, not that it would've been much use. The hands slammed into her and roughly pinned her body to a nearby wall, knocking the breath out of her. She coughed harshly.

"Who are you," the sand genin demanded, a dangerous fire burning in his eyes. Sakura shivered, he looked half insane.

"I don't know what you mean," she managed to get out. She clawed at the sand hands holding her in place. "Let me go or you'll get in trouble. There are leaf nin patrolling the roofs."

The hands suddenly disappeared, melting into soft sand and she dropped to the ground, wincing. That was definitely going to leave bruises. Almost like art, the sand on the ground flowed back into the gourd on his back.

"Who are you," he asked again.

"My name is Sakura," she offered with a wince. "I don't know what you want from me."

"Mother goes quiet when I go near you," he said softly, almost to himself. "What is it that's scaring her?"

"Look, I don't know," she said angrily. She had a feeling she knew what it was. The Voice. It had to be. But she kept her mouth shut and glared at the other genin. He was dangerous, but she'd seen his powers now and she was confident that if he attacked her again she would have time to scream for help. He wouldn't kill her.

The red-haired boy made a noise that sounded like a hiss before narrowing his eyes. His form slowly turned to sand, melting away.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Early the next morning, Sakura met her teammates at the entrance to the Forest of Death. A few other genin teams had already gathered but the female proctor from the day before had yet to show up.

"Good morning," she greeted the boys tiredly. She hadn't slept much the night before, kept up by the lingering fear from her encounter with the red-haired genin from Suna and nightmares about the second stage of the exams.

Naruto smiled brightly and Sasuke just nodded.

The three stood there in silence as more participants arrived at the site. To her right, she noted that the red-haired genin who'd cornered her the night before had shown up with his teammates. Indeed, moments later she felt eyes on her and she shivered.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

Quietly, Sakura told him about what had happened the day before after the first stage.

"Oh no!," Naruto said, blinking in worry. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "I'm just confused. He gives off a scary aura."

"Yeah, I know," he said, casting a not-so-subtle look at the sand team. "I ran into them the other day with Konohamaru."

"What?" she exclaimed, turning to him. "Why didn't you say something."

The blond shrugged. "It didn't seem important, ahaha. The red-haired guy's name is Gaara, I think."

"Gaara, huh," she murmured.

The female proctor appeared from a small whirlwind of dust in the center of the gathering area, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts.

Anko Mitarashi, she remembered, having done some quick research the night before.

"Alright, listen up kids!" the woman yelled loudly, not that everyone's attention hadn't already been on her.

"Each time is going to enter the ten over there," she pointed to a large white tent set up nearby, "and get a scroll. You also need to sign liability waivers, in case of death or injury."

A few genin chuckled nervously. Anko smirked.

"Anyways, there are two types of scrolls: Heaven and Earth. To pass this exam you need to collect both and make it to the tower at the centre of the training grounds before the deadline."

And that was all the instruction they got. Quietly, Sakura mused over the words. She wouldn't make the same mistake as in the first phase by not paying attention to the true meaning of the exams.

Each team received one scroll and to pass you needed two. That meant that at least half the teams would be eliminated. Of course, there was also about a fifty percent chance that you'd run into a team with the same scroll as you. Taking that scroll or burning it would result in a further loss of the teams that could pass.

All in all... only about a quarter of the teams would pass. She took a deep breath before smiling at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get a scroll."

* * *

Sakura groaned, running a hand through her matted pink hair. She felt dirty. She supposed she'd better get used to it. There wouldn't be the luxury of showering on most missions.

They'd been in the Forest of Death for about two days now, and they had yet to run into anyone. If it continued this way they might not even make it past the second stage. They needed to find an Earth scroll.

They'd heard multiple cannons over the course of the hour, each one sending a shiver down her spine. The fact that so many teams had already been wiped out and yet they'd had a relatively easy journey was odd.

In front of her, Sasuke stopped on a branch.

"Ugh, the trail stops here," he said annoyedly. They'd caught on to the trail of another team about an hour ago, but now they were back where they'd started.

Sakura sighed. "It's fine, Sasuke. We should just head towards the tower and try to intercept any teams passing through."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"I need to go pee," Naruto complained from her other side. She rolled her eyes.

"Then what are you waiting for? You don't need our help, right?"

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Aha, yeah. I'm just gonna go to those bushes down there. Be back in a few."

The forest was quiet for a moment again and then they heard the sound of something tinkling.

Sakura burst out laughing. "Naruto, you pee really loudly."

There was a cry of outrage from below. "Sakura! Stop listening to me pee!"

"It's hard not to," she responded. "I can't really hear anything else."

As soon as the words left her mouth she and Sasuke both froze. They turned to each other, both instantly seeing the same look in the other's eyes.

"Naruto," Sakura said steadily, trying to keep the urgency from her voice. "Come up here right now."

"What? But Sakura, I'm not done! I drank too much water this morning!" Naruto called back.

"Naruto, I don't care. Just get up here, we need to leave," Sasuke said loudly.

The blonde seemed to finally catch on to the urgency in their voices. "Alright, I'm coming."

She could hear him zip up his pants and looking down she saw his orange jumpsuit appear from behind the bushes. He gave her a thumbs up from the ground below. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok, let's go-"

She was cut off as a large gust of wind suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Naruto!" She yelled. She could see him flying away from them through the branches, propelled by whatever they'd just felt.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked from beside her.

"I don't know, but it took Naruto," she replied, panicking.

"We'll find him. Let's move," he said, jumping off the limb of the tree onto a further away one, in the direction they'd seen Naruto disappear.

Sakura followed him, but the sharp whistle past her ear of a kunai flying sent her spinning back again.

"Kukuku, not so fast," a foreign nin said, standing casually on the branch they'd just left. Sasuke turned around as well instantly. How had they both not noticed her?

The Kusa symbol was engraved in the headband she wore.

"We don't have the scroll," Sakura said quickly. Before, they might've taken their odds against the foreign kunoichi, but right now they needed to find Naruto.

She just smiled eerily. "My dear, I'm not here for your scroll."

Sasuke landed on the branch next to her. "Sakura, we need to move," he hissed under his breath.

"You're right, we don't have time for this," she muttered. Her fingers quickly tied an explosive tag to a kunai and she threw it in the Kusa-nin's direction.

It exploded with a bang, concealing her figure in a cloud of smoke.

With a nod to Sasuke they both sprang into motion, jumping away towards where they'd last seen Naruto. She matched his pace as they sped through the trees, both going as fast as they could.

Straight ahead of them, a chakra signature suddenly appeared. It gave off a slimy feeling that made her skin crawl. She swore under her breath.

"Sasuke, there's someone ahead."

They pulled out of the dense forest into a small clearing. At the very center, the same kunoichi they'd just encountered stood waiting. She was twirling a kunai around in her fingers casually, as if she'd been waiting for them to arrive. With a start, Sakura noticed it was the kunai she'd thrown.

"It won't be that easy to get rid of me," the Kusa-nin purred.

From beside her, Sasuke snarled. "Move out of our way, or you'll regret it," he threatened.

The kunoichi blinked innocently. "Will I?"

She reached up to her hairline. Her nails slowly peeled away the skin there. It was discomforting, like watching someone peel a bandaid off a scab. But there was no blood underneath. The Kusa-nin finished peeling off her face and Sakura felt fear run down her spine. The generic, tanned, feminine face was replaced by a deathly pale one, with glinting yellow eyes.

She'd seen enough pictures of him in the bingo books to know who he was. The missing sannin, the traitor of the trio.

"Orochimaru," she said, her voice coming out much more trembling and weak-sounding than she'd wanted it to.

"That's right," the man whispered

Killing intent flooded over the clearing they stood in, making moving feel like swimming in a pool of syrup. All her movements consumed her energy and all she could see was death. It wasn't like the fight against the Kiri-nin, where they'd been stuck in illusions, her mind working fine. This time, she could see perfectly clearly but it was her mind which was being fed the constant, absolute knowledge that this was how she was going to die.

She felt a sharp pain and felt her arm being yanked back. She turned her head and saw a kunai handle sticking out the back of her hand, pinning it to the trunk of a tree. The pain washed over her and she could feel her muscles spasm.

In the center of the clearing, Sasuke and the older sannin exchanged a rapid series of blows, but even to the untrained eye it was obvious that Orochimaru was playing the Uchiha. Sasuke could barely keep up with the pace and was barely getting in any attacks of his own, much too focused on avoiding the other's strikes.

As if tiring of the game, Orochimaru suddenly cut over Sasuke's head, forcing him to duck. He then followed it with a sharp uppercut into his stomach, making Sasuke go flying. He slammed into the tree behind him with a crash.

Sakura screamed. Ignoring the pain and disgust, she pulled out the kunai stuck in her hand and sprinted towards her teammate. She saw Orochimaru approaching out of her peripheral and shoved Sasuke out of the way. A kunai flew towards her face and she barely managed to twist out of the way.

She felt long fingers grasping her hair and suddenly she was being pulled back upright in a movement that sent pain to her scalp.

"Stop interfering, little girl," Orochimaru said tiredly. He twirled a kunai around his fingers.

On the limb of a tree nearby, Sasuke stood up with difficulty, breathing heavily. He coughed up blood onto the ground as he unfolded himself. Despite the pain, he glared hatefully at Orochimaru.

"Get away from her," he said, coughing.

Orochimaru's eyes glinted. "Show me your sharingan and I'll come play with you," he purred.

Sasuke didn't respond and slowly removed a kunai from his pouch. His hand trembled slightly as he held it.

"Don't use it, Sasuke," Sakura yelled in desperation. She knew just as well as him that he didn't have his sharingan yet, but if this was what Orochimaru was after then they needed to keep up the facade. The sannin had been playing with them this whole time. If he found out that Sasuke didn't have the sharingan…

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and launched himself towards Orochimaru. Without letting go of his grip on Sakura, the sannin easily span around and kicked Sasuke in the gut, sending him flailing back and crashing into another branch. This time he didn't get up.

"Sasuke," she yelled, squirming and kicking out to try and get to him. Orochimaru just tightened his hold on her hair.

"Not so fast, little girl."

She grunted and lifted her kunai up, trying to cut through her hair and escape. The black-haired man pinned her wrist to the tree with his shoulder though, increasing the pressure until she was forced to drop the weapon.

On the nearby tree, she could see Sasuke slowly getting back on his feet again, although much slower than before.

Orochimaru hissed. "Uchiha, my patience is running out. Do you have a death wish? Don't be stubborn."

Sasuke didn't respond and gritted his teeth.

Understanding slowly dawned in the sannin's eyes. Sakura struggled even more than before.

"No! Get off," she screamed.

"Unless," Orochimaru whispered, his voice carrying across the forest. "You haven't awoken it yet."

He laughed, a mocking sound. "Itachi Uchiha awakened his sharingan at eight years old. You hope to defeat your brother in your lifespan, Sasuke?"

Sasuke growled, a guttural sound. He made to attack Orochimaru again, but with his free hand the man held a kunai to Sakura's neck.

"Not so fast, Uchiha. You're acting like an animal."

Sasuke paused, and she could see desperation burning in his eyes.

Orochimaru finally turned his attention on her. "A little girl with pink hair won't make it far."

She kept her mouth firmly shut, her teeth clenched. She stared at him with as much force as she could muster. Her body trembled from the intensity of his gaze though, his yellow eyes filling her vision terrifyingly.

Silence passed over the forest for a moment as Orochimaru examined her.

"Useless," he whispered under his breath.

The sannin turned to Sasuke with a serene smile on his face, a stark contrast from moments ago.

"Do you think slitting her throat in front of you will make your eyes turn red, Uchiha?" he asked casually. The heartbeat pounding in her ears froze and everything was quiet.

She could feel the cold metal of the kunai slicing through the skin of her neck as if detached, without any accompanying feeling of pain. The warm blood bubbled up.

The voices inside her brain screamed.

Sakura screamed.

A nearby tree bent, defying all laws of nature and the branches all seemed to converge into a deadly lance. She pushed outwards in Orochimaru's direction and the branches followed her order. The wood came alive, twisting itself into a deadly spike. She stabbed it, deep, deep, into his chest.

Orochimaru coughed up blood, a look of interest crossing his face.

"Oh. Isn't this a nice surprise," he said, barely louder than a whisper. Sakura heard him though, and all she felt was fear.

"Get away from us," she screamed, pulling her hands apart. The branches moved in all directions, tearing through Orochimaru's flesh and sending a splatter of blood and organs everywhere.

He didn't scream. Instead the last thing Sakura saw was a smirk on his face.

His body toppled off the branch they were on, but she didn't hear it hit the forest floor. Instead, the last thing she saw was Sasuke bending over her in concern before her vision went dark.


	14. chapter 13

**A/N: I have to say, this chapter took forever... I worked on it a bunch of times, thinking I'd finally finish it, but each time I only got a little more done. Anyways, I've finally finished it, so I hope you like it. **

**While writing, at some point I switched to present tense without realizing it. I had to go back and fix it all to past tense, so there might've been some verbs I missed or phrases that sound a bit weird. Oops! Also in the Kabuto/Orochimaru part (spoilers! sorry!) the tenses might've gotten a little mixed up too. It was weird to write about him thinking about the meeting. **

**This chapter does not have much development of the Mokuton, but it is pretty important in the grand scheme of things. The next one will be even more so :) (Get hyped!)**

* * *

[Chapter 13]

Sakura awoke to a pounding headache. Her entire body ached and her brain felt scrambled. It was like a baby had reached into her brain, played with it like putty and then stuffed it back in carelessly.

Slowly, the pain and confusion abated as she felt her senses coming back. The floor beneath her was damp and cold. Her vision, still a bit blurry, was dark.

Where was she?

She sat up with a groan, blinking away the wobbling world shown by her eyes. She was surrounded by stone. Damp, cold, stone. She could see an opening a few metres away. A cave then.

For a moment she felt a little bit of panic bubbling up at her unknown surroundings. How had she gotten here? Last she remembered, she'd been in the Forest of Death and then…

Orochimaru had attacked and, and-

Naruto and Sasuke! Where were they?

"Naruto! Sasuke!" she yelled, her voice breaking. Her throat felt dry and scratchy. She knew that this was one of the stupidest things to do after waking up in a foreign location, countless lessons at the academy had taught her that, but she needed to know where her teammates were. She needed to make sure they were alive.

"Oh, you're awake," a calm voice noted. She spun around.

A silver-haired older teen sat leaning against one of the cave walls near her.

Sakura scrambled back, not having noticed him.

"Who are you," she hissed. She vaguely felt as if she should recognize him though. She'd seen him before. She grimaced, if only her head would stop pounding.

He didn't respond for a moment, instead studying her through circular glasses with a curious expression on his face.

Sakura's eyes caught on the Konoha symbol on his forehead protector. She relaxed a little bit. He wasn't an enemy then. An ally? Were they still in the Forest of Death.

"Where are Sasuke and Naruto," she demanded, ignoring that he hadn't answered her previous question.

Grey eyes kept staring at her. She glared back fiercely.

Finally, he sighed. "They're out getting some food. They'll be back in a few minutes."

The fact that he could've been lying didn't even register. Immediately, she felt her body relax against her will and she slumped back against the cave wall. Sasuke and Naruto were fine, they were all still in the second stage of the exams.

Feeling her eyelids slip drowsily, Sakura fell back into unconsciousness seconds later.

Somehow, by some stroke of fate, they'd survived an encounter with Orochimaru.

* * *

Kabuto studied the sleeping girl.

Pale pink hair, dirty with grease and tangled from multiple days in the forest. Her limbs looked fragile, with only the slightest of muscle mass beginning to form. She looked harmless, weak.

Yet Orochimaru had chosen her over Sasuke.

His mind flashed back to their earlier encounter in the forest.

There had been a change of plans, his master had informed him. The sound team had been called off of their attack and Kabuto was to 'accidentally' run into Team 7, to offer his help.

To watch over Sasuke, he'd assumed. Attaining the Uchiha boy was their goal after all.

But no, his task was to watch over Sasuke's pink haired teammate. It had taken a moment to even remember her name - she truly had escaped his notice.

Now he wasn't exactly in a habit of questioning the sannin; he knew underlings who were too curious for their own good didn't last long. But this time he pushed.

"Why the change in plans?" He'd asked casually as Orochimaru turned to leave.

The sannin had slowly turned around. His golden eyes had gazed at Kabuto detachedly.

"I just mean, she's a civilian…" he'd said, trailing off. "Isn't the Uchiha significantly more valuable."

To his relief, Orochimaru hadn't seem irritated. A mixture of amusement and slight puzzlement, as if considering a problem he couldn't quite understand, had filled his voice when he finally answered.

"Why would a civilian girl possess a long-dead kekkei-genkai belonging to the shodaime?"

Kabuto had blinked in surprise. So, the girl - Sakura Haruno - had the Mokuton? That wasn't possible. Her name had indeed slipped his memory but he'd done thorough background research on all of Team 7. All records stated that her family was civilian, having moved to Konoha 5 generations ago. And even if by some slight chance the Shodaime's blood has mixed into her lineage at some point, how had the kekkei genkai not appeared before now? Kekkei-genkai almost always appeared as the dominant trait, especially in civilians, where there was nothing to cover it up.

He'd nodded curtly. "An intriguing problem indeed. I'll look into it."

But Orochimaru hadn't left as Kabuto had expected him to.

"The Mokuton is stronger than the Sharingan… Hashirama beat Madara, after all," he'd mused to himself.

Kabuto had almost wanted to grimace. His master was obsessed with the Shodaime's power. He'd experimented using cells collected from his dead body for years, inserting them into the bodies of babies. Yet even the one out of many that had survived, well, his power had been negligible compared to that of the original. If this girl's power was indeed natural...

Still, personally he thought Sasuke would've been a better choice. The curse mark had been practically made for him, it would've worked perfectly. All their plans had been based around _Sasuke._ Choosing this pink-haired slip of a girl over him… It was a mistake.

Kabuto had cleared his throat softly. "Did you give her the seal?"

Suddenly Orochimaru had snarled and he'd instinctively jumped back.

"I couldn't give her the curse mark," the sannin had hissed, glaring at Kabuto as if it were his fault. "Her body was weak, feeble. Without clan blood she would've died, and the Mokuton would've been lost again."

Kabuto had nodded hastily. "Of course. We'll find another way to turn her against the village."

His master's normally handsome face had been twisted in evil. "After the second stage of the exam finishes, quit. I don't care how you do it. I'll have the sound team keep track of her. I need you to look into the records - find out if anyone within the village knows of her power. If she hasn't been discovered yet then we need to act quickly. Once they realize what power she holds her worth will rise exponentially in their eyes. They won't let a valuable tool go so easily."

Kabuto had nodded again, agreeing to the orders. "My team has not retrieved a second scroll yet. I'll order the other two to stop their search and I'll join up with Team 7."

Orochimaru hadn't even heeded his words. "You know the consequences of failure," he'd said simply, melting into the tree underneath him.

Indeed, Kabuto knew the consequences of failure, he thought, staring at Sakura quietly. Looking at how weak she was, he couldn't help but feel a bit of distaste for the girl. What had made her so special, for fate to grant her the Shodaime's kekkei-genkai?

* * *

They'd made it to the exam site.

Sakura felt her head droop. She was so tired.

Her energy felt sapped. It'd been three days since the encounter with Orochimaru, and her body still hadn't recovered from the fight. The constant travelling hadn't helped either. Her head pounded in pain.

Trying to flex her fingers, she frowned. She still couldn't fully move her right hand, the one that had been pinned to a tree by a kunai. The bleeding had been stemmed by a piece of cloth tied around it but the pain was still there. Sakura distinctly remembered the gruesome feeling of the kunai tearing through skin and muscle.

The otherworldly presence hanging around her mind felt sharper than ever.

She could still remember the exact feeling of the tree bursting from its natural form, piercing through Orochimaru's body. That had been her. She'd done that. It had felt like she was molding the world around her.

She'd felt like a god.

Sakura was scared. The power she'd released was somehow connected to the Voice, and she'd been putting off confronting what exactly it was and why this had happened to her.

The three of them and Kabuto hadn't even been travelling through the 'd been forced to hike slowly through the forest after she'd made the excuse of not having enough chakra to tree run. It wasn't fully a lie - her chakra was depleted - but it wasn't the truth either. She was scared. Scared to accidentally brush her skin against a tree trunk and feel the Voice return again. Emotions buzzed at the edge of her mind but she shoved them out violently, too scared to confront her new power.

And if she was really careful to avoid any contact with wood, well, Sasuke didn't say anything, although she was sure he'd noticed.

He'd been there after all - he'd seen the tree defy all natural laws. But as if by a stroke of fate - or perhaps there was a more sinister reason, she didn't trust him - Kabuto hung around irritatingly close to her all the time. Sasuke hadn't yet had an opportunity to confront her alone. For that she was thankful. She couldn't even explain what had happened to herself, nevermind her teammate.

Around half a day after she'd woken up, they ran into another genin team. One that used genjutsu clones and attacked them from the shadows, safely out of their reach.

Sakura's nerves frayed.

She stood in the clearing, awkwardly dodging stray kunai as her teammates won the fight for her. She was useless, but what else could she do? She couldn't help them.

The power was so tempting, right at the edges of her consciousness. She could reach out easily. She could grab it. Accidentally, her hand brushed along bark and emotions and murmurs flooded her mind.

She felt the power rushing through her veins again. It felt good. Right.

Suddenly she could see Orochimaru's eyes in front of her again. That last, intrigued smile that had spread over his face even as the tree pierced through his body. He wasn't dead, that was certain.

Sakura was terrified of whatever this new power is. She couldn't control it.

Kabuto did little to help, but Naruto and Sasuke were amazing, working together like she'd never seen them do before. The second stage had been eye-opening for all of them and this pitiful genin team was nothing like standing before one of the sannin.

They turned out to be in luck, the team has an earth scroll to match their heaven. Kabuto - Naruto had told her his name - waved them a cheery goodbye outside the tower. He was much too happy for someone who'd just failed the exam and supposedly didn't know where his teammates were. None of them trusted him, yet what could they do?

Together, Team 7 entered the tower.

The ringing in her head of the Voice subsided slightly as they left the forest, enough for her to finally clear her thoughts a bit. There was a scroll on the wall, depicting a story of heaven and earth, mind and body.

Sakura didn't think she truly grasped the meaning but she understood enough for her to fumble a few thoughts together.

"We have to put the scrolls on the ground together and open them together," she instructed the two boys, relatively certain in her guess.

They did and as they opened them Iruka-sensei appeared in a poof of smoke.

He surveyed them for a second and she thought she saw relief in his eyes.

She was so tired

"Hey, Iruka-sensei," she greeted. Her body collapsed.

They were all safe now

Iruka rushed over, fear in his eyes. "What happened to you guys," he breathed out. It wasn't phrased as a question, but Naruto was unusually serious as he answered it anyways.

"We survived an encounter with Orochimaru."

* * *

The feeling of foreign chakra entering her system woke sakura.

It felt like liquid beneath her skin and she could feel it slithering around her body with an acute awareness. It was an incredibly strange sensation. If she had to describe it, she'd say it was like soft plant tendrils caressing her skin. But instead of touching her skin, they were _inside_ of her, moving through her chakra pathways.

It wasn't necessarily uncomfortable. In a way, it was soothing. For the first time since waking up in the Forest of Death, she felt herself relax a bit.

It was strange, she'd never been so sensitive to chakra before.

"Try moving your fingers for me," a soft voice commanded from her side.

Doing as she was ordered and looking over, she saw a middle-aged medic-nin standing over her, her hands glowing green with healing chakra. Short brown hair framed a tanned face, just starting the show the first hints of wrinkles. Creases from smiling often lined her eyes and mouth. She looked nice.

Sakura tried wiggling her fingers and was surprised to find that it was easy. Her hand - the one that had been sliced through by a kunai - didn't hurt that much anymore.

"What'd you do to it?" She asked in amazement, clenching and unclenching her fist a few times to marvel at how much her dexterity had improved.

"I reconnected the severed tendons," the medic explained. "The good news is that you don't seem to have many other injuries apart from some bruising and chakra exhaustion. You should be alright to use your hand, but try not to rely on it too much - I wasn't able to fix everything, only the bare minimum. Is anything else bothering you?"

"My head hurts," Sakura breathed out. It did, like there was stress physically collecting behind her skull, trying to burst out. It had been pounding ever since she'd started trying to shut out the Voice.

The medic placed a glowing hand against her forehead, closing her eyes in concentration.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong," she said. "You might have a minor concussion, but nothing with lasting damage. I can give you some painkillers, if you'd like."

Sakura nodded gratefully.

The medic smiled in sympathy, handing her a few pills and a glass of water to swallow them down. "Unfortunately I can't do much more, the preliminaries are starting soon. Due to your team's relatively late arrival to the tower, you won't have much time to rest and recover. This is designed to give an advantage to the teams that finish earlier."

Sakura nodded in understanding, processing the new information. They didn't get to rest, they had to keep fighting. her head pounded.

"When did we get here," she asked.

"A few hours ago, you were one of the last teams to pass the stage."

The medic casually looked over. "One of the teams set a new record for finishing time."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "Which team?"

"The sand team. The one with the Kazekage's children," she answered.

There'd only been one Sand team of note. So that meant that the red-headed genin was the Kazekage's son. Sakura shivered. Growing up, they'd heard stories of Suna-nin. They'd always been presented as deadly and cunning, similar to the poisonous scorpions with who they shared their dessert.

"Whenever you're ready just leave this room and keep going right down the hallway to reach the area for the preliminaries. You won't miss it, most of the other participants are already there."

The medic left the room quietly soon after, leaving sakura alone with her thoughts

She allowed herself to close her eyes for just a moment before gritting her teeth and rolling out of bed. Luckily nothing seems to be in pain, the medic has healed most of her bruises. But a bone-weary exhaustion settled on her as she started walking to the door. Her limbs felt like they were moving through slush and she had the overwhelming urge to lie back down in the bed.

No, she had to keep moving.

She tried to access her chakra. Startled, she found that most of it was still gone. She had only about a quarter of her usual reserves, which were already tiny. Worry managed to creep into her slightly hazy mind. That wasn't right. She knew the rate at which her chakra returned, and it had been three days at least since she'd last used it - they hadn't even travel through the trees, after all. Sakura shrugged it off. She was going to have to make due with what she had.

Hopefully the preliminaries would be easy.

The hallway the medic had directed her to opened up into a large cavernous room. There was a large, flat, open space along the floor. The arena, she assumed. Along the edges of the room, balconies had been built for observers.

The other genin were milling around on the floor-level. Anxiously, she scanned the crowd for blond and black hair.

There they were! Sakura hurried towards her teammates, brushing by another contestant with a mumbled apology.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" She called, perhaps a bit too loudly. Other genin turned to look at her, taking in her physical appearance. They looked at her as if she was prey. Sakura knew she didn't look good - clothes torn from days in the forest and hair matted and tangled. She looked as exhausted and weak as she felt.

Naruto turned and greeted her happily. "Sakura! We were really worried about you!"

Casting a subtle glance at Sasuke she would say that worry was the last emotion he was feeling at the moment.

"Thanks Naruto," she found herself saying. "I'm fine though. A medic fixed up my injuries."

He grinned widely, and it made her heart lift a bit. "Alright! Once we all pass the preliminaries we can go celebrate at Ichiraku's."

She gave a tired smile back. "That sounds good, yeah."

Out of the corner of her vision she noticed the Hokage making his way onto one of the balconies. His robe billowed behind him and despite herself, the sight of him made her feel safer. What could be the worst that would happen with the Hokage himself here? Even Orochimaru wouldn't dare attack again.

She nudged Naruto and Sauke - the latter sending her a dark look and twisting away.

"I think we're starting," she told them, slightly hurt. Sure, she knew Sasuke didn't exactly consider her his best friend, but they'd made progress since the Academy. She had felt as if he'd recognized her as his teammate.

"Welcome," the Hokage greeted the gathered genin. His voice boomed throughout the cavern, echoing a few times. This only seemed to solidify his powerful presence.

"Congratulations to all the genin that have passed the second stage of this year's chunin exams," he said. "However, as many of you might have figured out, there are still too many contestants to continue onto the final stage, which will be an exhibition tournament with many of the land's most wealthy and powerful civilians attending. Due to this, we will be holding preliminaries to cut down the final number."

Casting a quick look around, Sakura guessed that most of them had already been told to expect this by their mentors or had figured it out themselves. No one looked surprised.

"The rules of the preliminaries are simple. A computer will randomly choose two genin to fight. The winner of the match proceeds to the final stage. As we have an even number of participants, all genin will fight once. Killing is strongly discouraged."

Sakura would have felt like laughing had that not been such a morbid statement. 'Killing is strongly discouraged', the Hokage had said. Sure, they didn't want the genin slaughtering each other, but if they did… well there'd be no consequences. Not that she hadn't already learned as much in the Forest of Death. She wondered if the teams that hadn't made it were still alive. She wondered if their villages would mourn them.

"With that said, I'd like to announce the first match of the day," the Hokage said. Collectively, the genin and the rest of the shinobi standing on the floor of the arena turned to a large screen, where names and faces were already flashing. She saw her face flash by for a split second, pink hair framing a soft smile, before it was replaced with another genin's.

Next to her Naruto was fidgeting and she could feel her hands sweating. The air held a nervous tension now, everyone anticipating the result.

The image and words slowed to a crawl, eventually stopping entirely. The first contestant had been determined.

A boy with red hair and a kanji tattooed onto his forehead stared out from the screen. Sakura didn't even have to read the name beneath to know who it was.

"Gaara Sabaku will be the first fighter," the Hokage announced, his voice spreading across the silence easily. "Now for his opponent."

"I feel bad for whoever has to go up against Gaara," Naruto chuckled quietly to her, under his breath. "That kid is scary."

She nodded in agreement.

The faces and names on the screen were rolling again, going too fast to see more than a few features or letters.

She could feel the room holding its breath. None of the genin were particularly eager to face Gaara. Even without having fought him, he exuded an aura of bloodlust.

The rate of the pictures changing slowed again. Slower, and slower, and slower. A bit disconnectedly, Sakura realized she hadn't seen her face yet.

It stopped.

Pink hair and green eyes stared out at her from the screen, and Sakura stopped.

Move on, she thought desperately. Keep moving.

The image and the words beneath it stayed still. Beside her, she heard Naruto let out a startled gasp.

"It has been decided. Our second fighter will be Sakura Haruno," the Hokage said. Each word was like a blow to the gut, sealing her fate.

"Anyone who is not fighting, please make your way up to the stands," The Hokage finished. "The preliminaries start now."


	15. chapter 14

**A/N: So... all in all, a very short chapter (I normally try to get at least 3k words, but this one is a bit less than 2k), but I needed to get something out here again. I've been a bit overwhelmed with school and everything going on lately, that I forgot how much I enjoy writing. Anyways, hopefully this reads ok, and I just thought I'd mention that you should definitely feel free to offer some constructive criticism (although please no outright hate!) in the comments. I'm always looking to improve my writing, and even though this obviously isn't a great showcase of the best writing I can do (I normally just write it down as I go and don't even really check it over/edit it oops!) but I'm still really interested in hearing what aspects of my writing you guys think could be better :))**

**Hopefully I'll get the next (longer) chapter out soon, but who knows~ **

**I'm really excited though, because after the next two chapters (maybe three), we get into the really interesting part of the story that I've got planned out, and that everything so far has been kind of building towards.**

**Also, I promise that by the end of the next chapter Sakura is going to **

**a) not be so confused about what the 'Voice' and her powers are**

**b) stop passing out! (sorry for the spoilers for this chap lol)**

**With all that said... I hope you enjoy reading this at least as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**

* * *

[Chapter 14]

Sakura stood in the middle of the arena ring, pink hair fluttering softly on an invisible breeze. The cavern must have some type of venting. She couldn't see any openings along the walls but perhaps they had been obscured. Not that it really mattered.

She gazed across the ring into another pair of green eyes. His eyes were pupiless, ringed with black kohl. She couldn't read the emotion beneath them. It was like staring at a doll.

Gaara's red hair was unnaturally bright. She wondered where its colour came from. Naruto had told her about his siblings. Temari's hair was blond, and she hadn't yet seen Kankuro's. She imagined Gaara dyeing his hair red with blood. Somehow the image didn't bring her any sense of amusement, just added to her fear.

The proctor had blown his whistle about two minutes ago, but neither genin had moved yet.

Sakura wasn't sure why Gaara was hesitating - or if he was even hesitating. She'd been feeling around with her chakra and hadn't sensed him do anything yet, but he could be setting up some elaborate trap while they both stood here, motionless.

She shook her head mentally. No, that went against the impression she'd gotten of him so far. He was strong enough to crush his opponents without resorting to wits. He didn't need a trap to beat her. The lack of obvious motive for his silence unnerved her.

Slowly reaching into the kunai pouch at her thigh, Sakura heard her heart beat loudly in her ears.

The lack of motion so far was worse than an actual fight. It was like walking down a dark alley at night, knowing something lay in wait but not knowing when it would attack. Fear and suspense could win a fight before it even started.

She couldn't deal with it anymore.

Her kunai flew straight and true, whistling towards Gaara's head. He didn't make a single move, either to block it or attack her, and for a single second Sakura wondered if it could really be that easy.

A wall of sand sprung up before him in an instant. The kunai clattered to the ground, the sound breaking through the unearthly silence that had reigned.

Still Gaara didn't move, his green eyes gazing at her without life. She didn't dare break eye contact.

Out of the corner of her vision, she saw the floor distorting. Trying not to let her surprise show on her face, she cast a quick glance at it.

For a second she thought her eyes had played a trick on her. But no, the floor itself wasn't moving. It was covered in a thin layer of sand. Little swirls formed on the floor of the arena near Gaara's feet as more sand spilled from the gourd on his back.

Her eyes widened. But the sand was just that; plain, harmless sand.

Seconds ticked by.

Suddenly the sand seemed to take on life as Gaara infused his chakra into it and within seconds it was swirling up in an unnatural storm, defying gravity.

It rushed towards her in a whirlwind, swirling around both of them as if Gaara didn't want anyone interfering - or seeing - what was happening in the arena.

The gritty texture grated against her skin and got in her eyes, forcing Sakura to squint.

She could barely see in front of her. She wondered if this was what being in a sandstorm felt like. Not that it mattered - her heart pounded furiously and she could barely think rationally over the fear.

She didn't know where Gaara was anymore.

Focus, she told herself, trying to take deep breaths. Each gulp of air was filled with sand, making her throat feel raw, like she'd just screamed for hours.

A brief moment of lucidity overcame her and morbidly she wondered if Gaara could control the sand she'd just swallowed. She saw it ripping through her internal organs, leaving her to collapse like a marionette with its strings cut.

She forced her mind to focus. If she let herself be carried away by her fear it'd be over. Where was Gaara?

The sand storm picked up intensity and her vision was reduced even further. She could barely see her own hands now.

No. If she couldn't use her eyes then she'd just have to sense his chakra. No matter that Kakashi and the teachers at the academy had barely covered the basics of chakra sensing.

Swallowing her instincts screaming that this was this stupid, she closed her eyes. Feeling out with her chakra, she thought that she felt Gaara's chakra flicker exactly where he'd been standing before. Had he not moved?

Sakura let out a hiss of pain as she felt some of the sand draw a trail of blood along her arm. Vaguely she remembered learning about the process of turning sand into glass. It felt like shards of glass were tearing at her skin.

It hurt. She wondered if Gaara's plan was to let her slowly bleed out while he stood there.

But that didn't seem his style.

Tentatively feeling out with her chakra again, a growing foreign signature stopped her in her tracks.

She barely needed to sense it. It completely overwhelmed her, flooding over the entire arena like a released dam.

What was it?

Suddenly she realized it was Gaara. Some hidden well of chakra that he'd kept concealed within him was rising out now, overflowing into the arena. It rushed towards her like a wall of fog, the insanely powerful foreign chakra burned her skin as it surrounded her.

Sakura screamed in pain. The barrier she'd built in her mind came crumbling down in seconds. The Voice flooded her brain like before, screaming right along with it.

She felt fear, but it was pushed to the back of her mind as an even stronger feeling overwhelmed her. Some instinctive, unconscious desire to _suppress_ the foreign chakra filled her. She felt the unovercomable need to quell it, extinguish its flame, silence it.

She heard a hoarse voice shouting in anguish, and a little startled, she realized it was coming from her own mouth.

But as Gaara's chakra continued to coat her, any thoughts she'd been able to gather dissipated like water slipping through her hands. Again, all she felt was that inherent, urgent need to suppress Gaara's chakra.

She screamed again.

Just like in the forest with Orochimaru, a tree burst forth, growing at a speed that was unnatural. Trees were supposed to be slow, solid, unmoveable.

Solid bark scraped over the floor of the arena and branches spun and twirled through the air like long, spindly arms, reaching for her target. Lush, green leaves sprouted, bursting through the hazy colours of Gaara's still ongoing sandstorm like a sapling after a long, harsh winter.

The tree raced through the arena straight to the source of the chakra. It raced towards Gaara.

Suddenly the sand storm stopped whirling around them. All the sand fell to the ground in heavy sheets, as if all the life and chakra had been drained out of it. It covered the floor of the arena, creating an uneven terrain. Mounds of it in places, while other surfaces were covered by only a thin layer of dust. It was highest concentrated around the two of them, the sand reaching above her ankles. Sluggishly, Sakura took a step forward, feeling the sand slow her down, like she was moving through sludge.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw all the onlookers on their feet. She saw Kakashi restraining Naruto, as if he'd been trying to rush down to her.

But all of her attention was on the red-haired boy before her.

The tree had split at the end of the trunk, forming a massive hand. It grasped Gaara in a horrible imitation of an embrace, wooden fingers wrapped around him. He'd terrified her before, but now he just looked like a little boy. A limp, red-haired doll. He looked small, fragile.

His eyes had lost the bloodlust-filled glossy sheen they'd held before and now they gazed back at her in terror.

"What did you do," she heard him whisper in absolute horror.

"What did you do to _mother_?" He yelled.

Sakura frowned in confusion, still unable to gather her thoughts. She felt unnaturally tired. If her limbs had felt like they were moving through jelly before, now she felt like she was swimming against the strongest current in the world.

The world weighed down on her and she collapsed to her knees, sending jolts of pain down her leg.

Without realizing it, her eyes followed the tree wrapped around Gaara. Where had it come from? She wasn't in the forest and she didn't remember any trees in the arena.

Her vision followed the tree to herself and she looked down.

Her hands were pale, blue veins showing through along her wrists. Bloodied lines where the sand had swirled past her laced down her exposed skin. Her fingers were dirty, stained with blood and dirt. And where they should have ended, where there should have been round, dirty fingernails, her fingers turned brown and hardened, transformed into the roots of the tree.

She jerked her hand back, finding some hidden spark of energy. But her vision didn't change. The tree was growing out of her.

Panic flooded her again.

She felt all the eyes watching her, but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting it off. The skin of her fingers transformed seamlessly into tree roots. She couldn't move. She felt grounded to the floor, as if she herself was a tree, rooted deep into the ground.

Her vision swam, the exhaustion and fear finally overcoming her.

She saw Kakashi jumping over the railing and as she let herself collapse forwards towards the arena floor, she told herself it would all be alright. The Hokage was here. Gaara wouldn't hurt her. Kakashi would protect her.

For the third time, her vision went black. She really needed to stop making a habit of passing out.


End file.
